SEATTLE — A federal appeals court has overturned an order requiring Washington state health officials to provide competency evaluations to mentally ill defendants within seven days of a judge’s order.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday acknowledged the state Department of Social and Health Services has failed to comply with its own goals designed to protect the constitutional rights of mentally ill people charged with crimes.
But the appeals court said an order issued last year by a federal judge in Seattle setting a seven-day deadline for competency evaluations went beyond what the Constitution requires.
The state did not appeal the part of the federal judge’s order requiring competency restoration treatment within seven days, so the appeals court did not address that part of the permanent injunction.
The appeals court sent the case back to federal court to address its findings.
