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Judges and advocates push for task force to modernize forensic‑mental‑health statutes on competency and insanity
Summary
Senate Bill 5147 would create a two‑year task force to review and modernize Washington's forensic‑mental‑health statutes (Chapter 1077) governing competency to stand trial and criminal insanity, with the goal of improving fairness, reducing stigma in language, and recommending steps to facilitate diversion and effective treatment.
The Law & Justice Committee heard Senate Bill 5147 Jan. 20. The bill would establish a 26‑member task force, staffed by the Department of Social and Health Services, to review statutory provisions related to criminal insanity (not guilty by reason of insanity) and competency to stand trial, recommend statutory clean‑ups and modernization, and propose changes to promote person‑centered language, reduce stigma, and remove barriers to diversion and treatment.
Staff counsel Kevin Black told the committee that the forensic‑mental‑health chapter was enacted in 1973 and has grown by amendment since then; forensic work has shifted toward competency restorations, with DSHS reporting nearly 12,000 competency referrals last year compared with roughly 33 criminal‑insanity referrals. Judges and municipal‑court practitioners told the committee they regularly confront statutory inconsistencies and gaps, particularly when a single defendant has multiple competence‑related matters in different courts with differing procedural treatment.
Melissa Johnson of the District and Municipal Court Judges Association and King County District Court Judge Michael Finkel urged passage and asked to serve on the task force; they said a comprehensive review and consolidated statutory approach (similar to past consolidation of protection‑order statutes) would yield clearer guidance for trial courts, improve restoration procedures, and better align statutes with modern practice and clinical knowledge. Disability Rights Washington requested a designated slot for co‑counsel on the Trueblood case to ensure patient and civil‑rights perspectives were included.
Supporters characterized the task force as a technical, stakeholder‑driven step to produce legislative recommendations; the committee closed the public hearing and indicated the bill would return for further committee work.
