U.S. District Court Judge Adrienne Nelson is considering a request to extend a controversial federal ruling that two years ago set discharge deadlines for Oregon State Hospital patients to open up space for new admissions from jail.
The issue is significant because supporters of the discharge deadlines say they help the state psychiatric facility deal with limited space and keep people with mental illness from languishing in jail. Critics, however, say they have created a revolving door that leads to inadequate treatment, burned-out workers and public safety concerns.
The extension request made by the groups Disability Rights Oregon and Metropolitan Defenders is also potentially significant because the groups — for now, at least — continue to stop short of asking the court for a federal contempt order. The state has for months been violating an earlier federal order requiring people with mental illness who are facing charges spend no more than seven days in jail before being admitted to the state hospital.
The 2022 discharge deadlines mandated by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman were intended to put the state hospital back in compliance with the decades-old civil rights ruling intended to get people from languishing without appropriate care. Once in psychiatric care, they could receive treatment to allow them to aid and assist in their defense —a constitutional requirement before people accused of crimes can go to trial.
Under the Mosman order, patients charged with misdemeanors can stay at the hospital for up to 90 days, those with most felonies six months, and those facing violent charges a full year.
At a recent hearing, lawyers representing different clients discussed the state’s continued violations despite the deadlines remaining in place. Mosman’s successor in the case, U.S District Judge Adrienne Nelson appeared frustrated with the state’s lack of progress and noted that some of the lawyers appeared to be calling for her to issue a contempt order against the state.
But in their recent filing, Disability Rights Oregon is taking a softer approach. The 2022 discharge deadlines mandated by Mosman were “successful for a time” in helping the state comply with the earlier federal order, but the organization does not expect extending the discharge deadlines to result in the state meeting its obligations, according to the groups' filing.
The situation is “not acceptable,” the motion said, but “we fear that allowing the order to expire will exacerbate the problem.”
For a time, the state came back into compliance last year. Mosman extended his order for another year. However, admission wait times began rising again earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Kotek released a proposed budget that state officials say will help resolve issues at the state hospital. Kotek’s two-year budget includes $6.4 million to provide housing and other services to aid and assist patients as they leave the hospital. Her budget also calls for another $3.5 million to purchase equipment and hire evaluators to determine if a patient is ready to receive treatment in community-based settings.