SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A state appeals court says California can’t lock up people for months in jails after they've been found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The court in San Francisco has upheld a 2019 lower court order that gave the state a 28-day deadline for placing defendants in state mental hospitals after they're ordered committed because they were found incompetent to stand trial. Relatives of detainees said some defendants are languishing behind bars for months.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which took part in the suit, says about 4,000 people each year are placed on a waitlist for admission to treatment facilities.
