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In Our View: Best Defense Possible

Lawyers need specialized training in dealing with mentally ill clients

The Columbian
Published: July 22, 2015, 5:00pm

One of the less-appreciated roles in our society is that of the criminal defense attorney, particularly those attorneys who represent clients who cannot afford to pay. “How can a moral, ethical person represent such a low-life human?” goes the common question. And, too often, clients and their families aren’t grateful after the case is decided. But conscientious attorneys know that in order for our legal system to function, even the worst defendant deserves the best possible advocate.

That reasoning certainly would apply to cases where clients suffer from mental illness or impairment. Even as U.S. crime rates are dropping, the number of prisoners referred for mental health evaluation and treatment continues to rise. At the Clark County Jail, for example, an average of 46 inmates per day were referred for mental health evaluation or treatment in 2013, the most recent year available.

But as The Columbian’s Jessica Prokop reported in the July 19 edition, specialized training to help defense attorneys deal with these tough clients is not required and, in many cases, hard to come by. Like other professionals, attorneys are required to complete a certain number of hours of mandatory continuing education; understanding mental illness is not one of those requirements. But there should be more options for those who want to do so.

“How do people expect us to already know about mental illness?” asks Don Greenwood, a past president of the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “We have to learn. We have to go to classes. You don’t just suddenly acquire the knowledge.”

Mental illness is not the same as insanity or incompetency, which are legal terms. Very few defendants are found to be insane by a court. Insane people are incapable of knowing that what they did was wrong. Incompetent people are those who are unable to participate in their own defense; often, they undergo treatment and are then tried.

Though attorneys may rarely have insane or incompetent clients, it’s a frequent occurrence to have one who is mentally ill. “We see a lot of young clients who develop mental health issues as they enter adulthood,” said Christie Emrich, an attorney with Vancouver Defenders, a private law firm that does a lot of Clark County’s indigent defense work.

In King County, Abbey Perkins, the lead attorney for the regional mental health and veterans’ court, told Prokop that “they are a different and challenging client base to work with. I think you have to figure out different ways to communicate and be willing to meet people where they are, which isn’t always where you want them to be.”

Being willing and able to meet and understand these clients is hard for any busy defense attorney. Offering more training could make it easier for counselors to understand their clients and build a bridge to a better defense. Even if training in dealing with mental health issues is not required, coursework and hands-on scenarios could be developed and made available as part of the bar’s continuing education programs.

Once developed, the training needs to be available to attorneys throughout the state. At the moment, many continuing education choices are exclusively located in the Puget Sound region. The programs need to be available to lawyers around Washington.

Defense attorneys will not and should not take the place of psychologists and psychiatrists, who can diagnose and treat mental illness. But they should know more about these diseases, so they can give all of their clients the best possible defense.

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