Host Karen James speaks with Judge Nan Waller of the Multnomah County Circuit Court, who serves as Judge for the Mental Health Court and also manages the Aid and Assist docket for the county court. The U.S. Constitution declares that a person cannot be held in jail without due process. A person suffering with mental illness who is found by the Court unable to Aid & Assist in their own defense, cannot be held and punished in jail but must receive mental health treatment and be restored to competency before prosecution can continue. Once deemed unable, an individual must be transferred for restoration within 7 days. Oregon is in violation of this basic right as many pretrial defendants in need of mental healthcare languish for months in our County jails. In Sept 2022, Federal District Court Judge Michael Mosman ordered the State to comply with the 7-day ruling, and to limit the length of restoration in alignment with national trends. The OSH has begun discharging patients back to their communities under the new Mosman ruling.
Judge Waller https://www.courts.oregon.gov/courts/Pages/bio.aspx?person=139
Aid & Assist litigation https://www.droregon.org/mental-health-rights-project
Judge Mosman order https://www.oregon.gov/oha/OSH/Documents/OSH-mink-mosman-FAQ.pdf
PBS Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness https://www.pbs.org/show/hiding-plain-sight-youth-mental-illness/
- KBOO
- KBOO