Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Alawsuit alleges that the Florida Department of Children and Families takes too long to transfer mentally ill defendants, including some in Jacksonville, from jail to state hospitals, in violation of Florida law and the U.S. Constitution’s right to due process.
Defendants are considered incompetent if they cannot understand court proceedings or assist in their defense. Incompetency designation requires psychiatric evaluation and often other court experts. Once it is documented, DCF is required to transport the defendant to a state hospital for treatment within 15 days, where medications and therapies can be used to stabilize the patient. Until the hospital deems them competent, their trial doesn’t proceed.
The lawsuit, brought by Disability Rights Florida and the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleges DCF “exceeds this deadline by an average of over 100 days.” The suit also claims hospital admissions frequently take six months or longer, and that DCF “has maintained a fluctuating waitlist of between 650 and 880 people across Florida who are waiting an average of around four months for court-ordered competency restoration treatment.”…