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Faster jail transfers to California mental hospitals upheld

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Eric Risberg/AP
FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2016 file photo, a condemned inmate is led out of his east block cell on death row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif. The California Labor and Workforce Development Agency confirmed Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that California has sent about $400 million in unemployment benefits to state prison inmates. In all records show 31,000 inmates have applied for benefits and about 20,800 were paid $400 million. A group of local and federal prosecutors said 133 inmates on death row were named in claims. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
California Unemployment Fraud
Posted at 12:04 PM, Jun 17, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-17 15:04:01-04

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.

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