Trueblood ex rel. Badayos v. Washington State Department of Social & Health Services

822 F.3d 1037, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8452, 2016 WL 2610233
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMay 6, 2016
DocketNo. 15-35462
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 822 F.3d 1037 (Trueblood ex rel. Badayos v. Washington State Department of Social & Health Services) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trueblood ex rel. Badayos v. Washington State Department of Social & Health Services, 822 F.3d 1037, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8452, 2016 WL 2610233 (9th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

Opinion by

Judge M. MARGARET McKEOWN, Circuit Judge:

Washington State, through its Department of Social and Health Services (“DSHS”),1 has faced considerable challenges — both legal and practical — in administering timely competency evaluation and restoration services to pretrial detainees in city and county facilities. It is well recognized that detention in a jail is no substitute for mentally ill detainees who need therapeutic evaluation and treatment. Long-standing Supreme Court precedent requires that “a person whose mental condition is such that he lacks the capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense may not be subjected to a trial.” Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 171, 95 S.Ct. 896, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975). To hon- or its constitutional obligations, Washington law provides that when “there is reason to doubt [the] competency” of a person facing criminal charges, the defense counsel or prosecutor may request an evaluation or a court may sua sponte order an evaluation to ensure that only those persons competent to stand trial are prosecuted. Wash. Rev.Code § 10.77.060.

Following a bench trial, the district court detailed Washington’s shortcomings in providing competency evaluation and restoration services, the insufficient number of beds and personnel as a result of inadequate funding and planning, and the deleterious effects of prolonged incarceration without evaluation and treatment for [1040]*1040mentally ill detainees. The court addressed both initial competency evaluations and the mental health restoration services that follow a determination of incompetency to stand trial and concluded that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that services for both categories must be provided within seven days of a court order, absent an individualized determination of clinical good caused The court entered a permanent injunction to this effect, although Washington appeals only that portion related to initial competency evaluations. Thus, the question we address is a narrow one, focused on the timeliness of the evaluation — does the Due Process Clause compel the state to perform a competency evaluation of pretrial detainees within seven days of a court order requiring evaluation?

We agree with the district court that DSHS must conduct competency evaluations within a reasonable time following a court’s order. The district court’s seven-day mandate, however, imposes a temporal obligation beyond what the Constitution requires. Therefore, we vacate the injunction with respect to the seven-day requirement for in-jail competency evaluations and remand to the district court to amend the injunction in a manner consistent with this opinion.

Background

I. Competency Evaluations

Consistent with its constitutional obligation, Washington law provides that “[n]o incompetent person shall be tried, convicted, or sentenced for the commission of an offense so long as such incapacity continues.” Wash. Rev.Code § 10.77.050. Once a judge, defense counsel, or prosecutor raises doubt about a criminal defendant’s legal competency, the court must order an evaluation. Id. § 10.77.060(l)(a).

DSHS is responsible for overseeing both competency evaluations and any following restorative services. See id. §§ 10.77.010(5); 10.77.088. The evaluation must be conducted by a trained evaluator and includes a face-to-face interview with the individual whose competency is in doubt, which can occur in one of three settings: a jail, a state hospital, or in the community. Id. § 10.77.060(1). Individuals who are in jail (because they have been denied bail or have not posted bail) generally remain in jail awaiting performance of the competency evaluation. The court may order evaluations to take place at a state hospital if “necessary for the health, safety, or welfare of the defendant.” Id. § 10.77.060(l)(d). Nearly ninety percent of the evaluations occur in a jail or community setting. Detainees retain the right against self-incrimination during competency evaluations, have a right to counsel during the interview process, and may be permitted to have a defense expert for questions of competency. Id. § 10.77.020(4).

Once the requisite information has been gathered, the evaluator’s report and recommendations are presented to the court. Id. § 10.77.065. If an individual is found competent, the criminal prosecution may continue, but if a person is found incompetent to stand trial, criminal prosecution is stayed. Id. § 10.77.084(l)(a). At that point, the court may order restorative services or, if the defendant is charged with a nonfelony- crime that is not a serious offense as defined in § 10.77.092, the court may dismiss the case or refer the defendant for civil commitment. Id. § 10.77.088.

Washington law, effective July 24, 2015, sets a performance target of seven days or less for competency evaluations, but imposes a fourteen-day maximum time limit, with, the possibility of a seven-day exten[1041]*1041sion for clinical reasons. Id. § 10.77.068(l)(a).2 The target and time limit were to be phased in over a one-year period beginning July 1, 2015. Id. The law provides a number of defenses for failing to meet the deadline, including the inability to obtain necessary information regarding the defendant’s history, insufficient private space in the detention facility to conduct the evaluation, and “lack of availability or participation by counsel, jail or court personnel; interpreters, or the defendant,” any of which, if proven by a preponderance of the evidence, relieve the state of its duty to perform the evaluation within the time allotted. Id. § 10.77.068(l)(c). This provision explicitly “does not create any new entitlement or cause of action” to enforce these deadlines. Id. § 10.77.068(5).

II. District Court Proceedings

This appeal arises out of a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action filed in federal district court against DSHS by Cassie Trueblood, on behalf of a single plaintiff, Ara Badayos. Badayos had been found legally incompetent to stand trial and was detained in solitary confinement in the. Snohomish County Jail awaiting transfer to a hospital for restorative treatment. The complaint was then amended to include a class of individuals who were either awaiting a competency evaluation or had been found incompetent and were awaiting restorative services. The district court certified the class as:

All persons who are now, or will be in the future, charged with a crime in the State of Washington and: (a) who are ordered by a court to receive competency evaluation or restoration services through DSHS; (b) who are waiting in jad for those services; and (c) for whom DSHS receives the court order.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. State of Florida
Eleventh Circuit, 2026
State Of Washington, V. Alexandria Lockhart
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
State of Washington v. William H. Manes
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2025
Nepras v. Robnett
W.D. Washington, 2025
Glendening v. Howard
D. Kansas, 2023
In re Det. of A.C.
533 P.3d 81 (Washington Supreme Court, 2023)
(PC) Person v. Jones
E.D. California, 2023
In re Chunn
California Court of Appeal, 2022
State Of Washington, V. Alex Vevea
Court of Appeals of Washington, 2022

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
822 F.3d 1037, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 8452, 2016 WL 2610233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trueblood-ex-rel-badayos-v-washington-state-department-of-social-health-ca9-2016.