DENVER, March 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A
longstanding court battle over extensive wait times for
court-ordered mental health evaluations has come to a landmark
finish thanks to the work of a few dedicated litigators.
A coalition of lawyers – Iris
Eytan, a Colorado criminal
defense attorney of Eytan Nielsen LLC, Caleb Durling of Fox Rothschild LLP, and
Ellie Lockwood of Snell & Wilmer
LLP, both civil litigators on behalf of the Disability Law Colorado
(DLC) – moved to reopen litigation dating back to 2012 against the
Colorado Department of Human Services (the Department) that was
meant to address chronic and widespread delays in the court system
for providing court-ordered competency evaluations to pretrial
detainees, but failed to do so.
Federal Magistrate Judge Nina
Wang ruled that the Department was in breach of the original
agreements and set a five-day hearing to determine the length of
the breach and fashion a long-term solution.
DLC and the Department agreed to mediate to resolve the
longstanding issues. The parties mediated with Federal Magistrate
Judge Michael Hegarty for five days.
On March 15, 2019, the parties
entered into a Consent Decree, which the Court has entered as an
order on March 20, which created a
robust and comprehensive competency system – unlike any other
system in the country – in which the Department agreed
that:
- The appointment of a Special Master, who is a specialist in
forensic competency systems, who will assist in the creation of
this new competency system, and will monitor the Department's
progress, and approve of the Department's plans.
- The creation of two new units in the Department, one which will
create data collection and analysis systems, the other which will
require the hiring of numerous clinicians who will interface with
the courts and community service providers.
- The development of a system to streamline competency services
in the community to reduce the need for expensive inpatient
beds.
- The development of a triage system, which will ensure that the
most acutely ill pretrial detainees will be transported from jails
to the hospital in 7 days, instead of 28 days.
- Delivery of mental health treatment and clinical assessments in
jail during the interim period before transfer to an inpatient bed
at the hospital.
- Shortened deadlines for completion of competency evaluations
and restorations.
- The end of the Department's policy of freezing civil beds for
use by pretrial detainees.
- Continued court oversight over the Consent Decree that could,
in the event of the Department's violation, result in fines and
liquidated damages of up to $10
million a year that will be placed in a trust to be utilized
for non-Departmental and community mental health services.
"This Consent Decree should be a benchmark for every state in
the country. Top to bottom, this is a very comprehensive Consent
Decree designed to help this very vulnerable population for many
years to come. The criminal justice system was failing, because of
the mental health system was broken, but now the people most in
need of inpatient psychiatric care will be moved from jail to a
hospital in 7 days, instead of the current 4-5 months," said
Eytan.
"We worked hard with the state to build a streamlined
community-based mental health system that will significantly reduce
the criminalization of persons with mental illness. The Special
Master will have ongoing oversight and authority to ensure all
components are complied with and the constitutional rights of
thousands are protected," said Durling.
"This Consent Decree will ensure sweeping reforms to
Colorado's broken competency
system that in the coming months and years will provide thousands
of detainees with serious mental illness a better life," said
Lockwood.
In addition to Durling, Eytan and Lockwood, DLC was represented
by Tim Scalo of Snell & Wilmer
LLP and Mark Ivandick and
Jennifer Purrington of DLC. The team
of lawyers worked under the umbrella of the Colorado Lawyers'
Committee, a nonpartisan consortium of Colorado law firms focused on major public
policy issues and systemic change within the state.
The lawsuit was originally filed in the United States District Court for the
District of Colorado, No.
11-cv-02285-BNB (D. Colo.).
SOURCE Denver Legal Marketing LLC