Mink

Oregon, in recognition of the constitutional rights of mentally incapacitated persons charged with a crime, commendably has enacted statutory procedures for the identification and restorative treatment of such persons so that their guilt or innocence can be determined in a trial. This case presents the question of what happens when the state mental hospital (Oregon State Hospital or “OSH”), which is charged with evaluating and treating mentally incapacitated defendants, refuses to accept such defendants on a timely basis. Plaintiffs contend that OSH’s delays in accepting mentally incapacitated defendants violate those defendants’ substantive and procedural due process rights. OSH argues that it is the county jails’ responsibility to maintain and treat incapacitated defendants until OSH has an open bed. After a bench trial, the district court agreed with the plaintiffs and entered an injunction requiring OSH to admit defendants within seven days of a trial court’s finding of their incapacity to proceed to trial. We have .jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

I. Parties

Plaintiffs (appellees here) include A.J. Madison, a mentally incapacitated criminal…