SEATTLE — A federal judge on Wednesday set a March trial date for a lawsuit filed on behalf of mentally ill inmates who say they are waiting months for competency evaluations and treatment.
Before deciding on a date, U.S. District Chief Judge Marsha Pechman repeatedly asked the disability rights lawyers whether the wait list issue could be decided with a summary judgment.
She said if everyone agrees on the fact that mentally ill people are held in jails for long periods, and the issue of whether their constitutional rights are being violated would be easy to decide. It would then be a matter of deciding on a remedy to the problem.
The lawyers had asked Pechman two weeks ago for a restraining order to force the state to fix the waitlist problem, but she said while she sees some serious constitutional concerns, she needed more information and would instead consider a speedy trail. In response, the lawyers asked for January and the attorney general’s office said April would be better.
Pechman chose March 16.
The lawsuit claims the inmates are waiting up to 80 days in solitary confinement for competency evaluations to determine whether they can assist with their defense. And it says the ones found incompetent are waiting a similar length of time to be sent to one of two state psychiatric hospitals to be treated to restore their competency, if possible.
The lawsuit names the Department of Social and Health Services, Western and Eastern state hospitals, and the secretary for the agency. It claims the waitlists violate the Sixth Amendment right to due process.
Chris Carney, a lawyer with the group that includes the American Civil Liberties Union and Disability Rights Washington, said one reason to have the trial sooner is to have a ruling while the Legislature is in session. January would be early enough for lawmakers to do something, he said.
In addition, he said, the situation is “a humanitarian crisis” and they want to get a remedy quickly.
Assistant Attorney General John McIlhenny said the case was far too complex to move that quickly. He said the state believes the counties and municipalities that oversee the jails should be included in the case. He also told the judge that moving too fast would be tough on his office, which is already busy preparing to argue on a motion to make this a class action and include all inmates in Washington who are in a similar situation.
Pechman didn’t buy that argument.
“You’ve got the biggest law firm in the state,” she said. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson “could throw resources at this if he wants to. You have the capacity to respond.”
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