Court: Oregon State Hospital must resume admitting patients

PORTLAND  — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided the Oregon State Hospital must again admit certain patients within seven days, overturning a federal judge’s ruling that paused that directive.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman modified a 2002 court order requiring the state psychiatric hospital to admit people no longer than seven days after they’ve been found unable to help in their own defense.

His decision removed the time limit on keeping those patients in jail to accommodate the state hospital’s limited admissions policy as the pandemic grew worse.

Advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon has been protesting that decision, saying leaving patients in jail violates their constitutional rights. The group appealed to the 9th Circuit.

The judges sided with Disability Rights Oregon, ruling this week that the state hospital must resume admitting aid-and-assist patients within a week, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. They asked Mosman to assess if a modification to the admissions policy for those patients is still necessary in the long-term. A hospital spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

When patients are in jail, they experience delays in receiving court-ordered mental health treatment, Emily Cooper, Disability Rights Oregon’s legal director, told the newspaper.