OKPOLICY.ORG
It is gratifying to see the Legislature is set to approve the settlement negotiated by Attorney General Gentner Drummond and the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that complained of inadequate treatment services by the state to restore defendants to competency in criminal cases. The plaintiffs, who remained in lengthy pretrial incarceration, could not stand trial because they have been declared incompetent. Incompetency at this stage generally means they are unable to understand the charges against them and/or are unable to aid in their defense.
The settlement, due to its potential cost, must be approved by the Legislature in regular session or by the Contingency Review Board (CRB) when the legislature is not in session. When the settlement was announced by Drummond, Gov. Stitt complained it was a bad deal that would be too expensive and deprive the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) of funds for other necessary mental health treatment.
Gov. Stitt orchestrated a couple of CRB meetings which resulted in delaying the approval of the agreement, and ODMHSAS hired an attorney to represent its interest rather than the Attorney General. After some political wrangling and legal maneuvering, an amended settlement was reached that the governor and the ODMHSAS commissioner signed off on.
Generally, the agreement mandates reducing the wait times to constitutionally appropriate levels for competency restoration, thereby reducing pretrial incarceration, and allows for a new in-jail restoration treatment program that replaces an existing one the plaintiffs said was totally inadequate.
However, by the time the amended agreement was approved by the court, the November election had been held and Speaker Charles McCall and Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, two of the members of the CRB, were term limited and out of office. The new speaker and president pro tempore, could not be elected until the organizational day of the new legislature, so the CRB was without a quorum to act.
With new Speaker Kyle Hilbert and new President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton authoring the resolution to approve the settlement it should have smooth sailing on the legislative side and move forward. The settlement will cost the state between $26 million and $45 million depending on how long it takes the state to come into compliance. The resolution passed the House Appropriations and Budget Committee and is ready for floor action.
Speaker Hilbert said, “”We would not choose to set policy through the courts in this way, but we feel like this consent decree is the best path forward so we can restore these competency services in a meaningful and timely way.” Hilbert attended Wednesday’s Appropriations & Budget committee meeting and voted in favor of the resolution’s do pass motion. “This will ensure those who committed crimes are held accountable and victim families are allowed to see justice served, all while we are providing Oklahomans accused of a crime needed mental health services,” Hilbert said.
The settlement will resolve the lawsuit the Attorney General said was indefensible based on the services the state was providing and save the state millions in protracted litigation costs.
