Incompetent to Stand Trial, Not Restorable, and Dangerous

Abstract

This article focuses on the preferred disposition for an individual charged with a serious crime against another person, adjudicated incompetent to stand trial and not restorable to competence, whose original criminal charges are dismissed without prejudice, and who is regarded by the state as dangerous to the general public. Three current models used today in California, Oregon, and Ohio are described. All three rely on modifications of various aspects of civil commitment law. We then propose a fourth model based on a modified version of the 1989 American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Mental Health Standards, in which individuals who are found incompetent to stand trial and not restorable to competence and are considered dangerous would be committed under the same special procedures governing the management and treatment of insanity acquittees.