People in the Bexar County Jail who have been found mentally incompetent to stand trial can wait months for a psychiatric hospital bed before their criminal cases can move forward. A federal judge has now ordered Texas to eventually cut that wait to no more than 21 days — and this week refused the state’s request to put that mandate on hold while it appeals.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Thursday denied the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s request to stay a sweeping July ruling that found the state’s prolonged detention of defendants awaiting competency restoration violates their constitutional rights.
A defendant is deemed incompetent to stand trial when a judge finds that, because of mental illness or an intellectual disability, they cannot understand the criminal proceedings against them or adequately assist their attorney. Their criminal case is paused while they undergo competency restoration — treatment intended to stabilize them enough for the case to resume…