Lawsuit Alleges Illegal Prolonged Jailing of People with Mental Health
Contact: Keisha Williams, ACLU Director of Communications, [email protected]
Disabilities
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is violating the rights of disabled pre-trial detainees in NC jails by failing to ensure timely evaluations and treatment for people who lack capacity to understand the legal proceedings against them. On April 18, 2024, attorneys from the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NC), Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC), and the law firm of Arnold & Porter filed a federal lawsuit.
On any given day, people with severe mental health disabilities languish for months in NC jails awaiting evaluation to determine if they can stand trial on their charges - charges for which they are presumed innocent under the law. Meanwhile, people with mental health disabilities who are being detained prior to trial are not getting adequate treatment for their mental health disabilities in jail, if they are getting any treatment at all. As a result, their conditions worsen while they wait, exacerbating their symptoms and increasing their risk of self-harm or harm inflicted by others.
Currently, people detained in jail for an evaluation to determine whether they are “capable to proceed to trial” wait an average of 68 days for the assessment. Meanwhile, a person who has been determined incapable to proceed (“ITP”) waits for more than five months for a bed at a state-operated psychiatric hospital where clinicians can provide treatment necessary to “restore” that person’s capacity to stand trial.
According to the lawsuit, which alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, these wait times are significantly longer than many other states.
The lawsuit further alleges that some people are spending more time in jail waiting for a capacity evaluation and/or restoration services than they would have been imprisoned if they were convicted of their pending charge and given the maximum possible sentence.
UPDATE: On May 13, 2024, we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction seeking emergency relief. The motion asked the court to order NCDHHS to evaluate pretrial detainees within fourteen days of an order for evaluation, and to begin restoration services within fourteen days of the order directing the mental health services.
UPDATE: On June 24, 2024, NCDHHS filed a response in opposition to our motion for preliminary injunction seeking emergency relief from the court.
UPDATE: On June 28, 2024, NCDHHS filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
