By Alphaeus Donatus Caston Bey
WOODLAND, CA – In an order to show cause hearing in the Yolo County Superior Court Thursday, Judge Sonia Cortés granted the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) a motion asking for 30 more days to transfer the accused—who was deemed incompetent to stand trial—from the county jail to a mental facility.
The motion comes after the accused was ordered to be transferred from jail to a mental health facility last Feb. 28, nearly four months since the order.
The accused was charged with three misdemeanors and two felonies, including one enhancement for a prior felony on Jan. 9 and Feb. 28.
DSH’s motion was in response to a motion filed by Deputy Public Defender John Gocke, asking the Court to hold DSH in contempt.
DSH’s reasoning behind the request is that the accused is scheduled to be placed on July 3. Courtney Schwyzer, representing DSH in the matter, also noted that according to DSH NAPA, the accused has recently been moved from number 26 to 25 on the waiting list to be placed. The request for more time would allow the accused to be placed “accordingly,” said Schwyzer.
“Did that make any difference in terms of the date of admission?” asked Judge Cortés in response to the update on the waiting list. “It did not, your honor,” responds Schwyzer. “That date could be sooner, it really just depends on where different individuals end up being admitted.”
Deputy Public Defender Gocke’s basis for the order to show cause, which asks the Court to hold DSH in contempt, rests on a local order that requires placement within 60 days of the commitment order, the order that deemed the accused incompetent for trial.
Gocke also referenced the California Court of Appeals decision, Stiavetti v. Clendenin, 65 Cal. App. 5th 691, which held “it [is] a Due Process violation to not place an individual in a state hospital facility within 28 days of a commitment order,” according to Gocke.
The opening lines of the Court’s opinion read, “Criminal defendants in California who have been found incompetent to stand trial are committed to the State Department of State Hospitals (DSH) or the State Department of Developmental Services (DDS) for receipt of substantive services to restore competency, with the goal of allowing criminal proceedings to resume.”
The opinion adds, “Yet, instead of being promptly admitted to DSH or DDS, these defendants often remain in county jails for extended periods of time while awaiting transfer. These delays have continued for many years, despite previous court orders and defendants’ own attempts to reduce them.”
The case ultimately rules that DSH and DDS systematically violated the due process rights of all the accused in California who had been found incompetent to stand trial.
“My client was found not competent to stand trial on Feb. 28, the commitment order was not signed until March 30, by no fault of my client,” said Gocke, “and we are now here on June 22 close to four months from the finding that he was not competent while my client was at the jail awaiting services. While it appears his placement may be soon, it is not certain…I am asking the Court to find the Department in contempt.”
The Department has attempted to explore other placement areas, but a May 30 report indicated the accused was denied admission to the Jail Based Competency Treatment Program (JBCT) due to his “unpredictable and hostile behavior,” Schwyzer added.
JBCT was launched by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency in July of 2022, almost one year to date. According to a press release from County Administrator Gerardo Pinedo, the program looks to “provide mental health services to incompetent to stand trial (IST) individuals.”
In the release, Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez notes, “Our new Jail Based Competency Treatment program will allow inmates who have been determined to be incompetent to stand trial to begin receiving treatment soon after it is ordered by the court, rather than having to wait many months in our jail for a bed to become available in the State Hospital system. This program will reduce custody time and positively impact both the inmate and my staff.”
“I was aware that he was denied,” argued DPD Gocke. “Frankly, that doesn’t change my position on this matter. That was passed the mark from when the commitment order was signed.”
“My client was at the jail this whole time,” said Gocke, noting, “The agency investigating my client should have been privy to his situation at the jail in terms of the need to house him in a facility other than the Yolo County JBCT, so that does not change my opinion at all.”
Judge Cortés denied DPD Gocke’s motion for sanctions and granted DSH’s 30-day continuance. But Gocke requested a review be scheduled for two weeks instead.
Since DSH said it believes the accused can be placed in a facility around July 3, Gocke reasoned two weeks would be more than fair to the state agency.
Schwyzer argues the 30 days would ensure that the accused is admitted accordingly. The extension would also ensure that there are thorough status updates for the Court, she added.
Deputy District Attorney Aimee McLeod affirmed and submitted to DPD Gocke’s request to schedule the review on placement for two weeks instead of 30 days.
Judge Cortés ended the session by granting DHS’s motion for a 30-day extension. The matter will come back on July 21 for review.
“If at that point he is not admitted then the order to show cause and sanctions may issue,” said Judge Cortés in closing.
