House committee reviews S.193 to create forensic facility, focuses on court process and safeguards

The House of Regents and Institutions Committee on April 21 reviewed draft 1.1 of S.193, a bill to establish a forensic facility for certain criminal-justice-involved people and to set court procedures for admission, review and release.

Eric Fitzpatrick of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee the amendment focuses on the court-side process that determines who may be sent to a forensic facility and how they might be released. “This is an attempt to align the procedures with United States Supreme Court requirements,” Fitzpatrick said, citing Jackson v. Indiana and stressing the need for an “off ramp” so people are not detained indefinitely without a constitutionally sufficient process.

Under the draft, a person found incompetent to stand trial who meets qualifying criteria could be sent to the forensic facility. The bill starts the statutory clock from the date of admission and requires competency reevaluations at least every six months; if a facility clinical services director deems a person likely to have regained competency, the facility must seek a re‑evaluation sooner. At the reevaluation hearing the court must find the person either competent — in which case prosecutors may choose to retry the case — or not competent, in which case restoration services continue.

If a court finds a person is not restorable, the bill…