OLR Bill Analysis

HB 6341

AN ACT CONCERNING COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL.

SUMMARY:

This bill permits information sharing among health care providers treating or evaluating a defendant who has been, or is believed to be, not guilty due to a mental disease or defect. Currently, there is no express authorization for sharing this information without the defendant's consent.

The bill gives clinical teams evaluating a defendant's competency access to the treatment history in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Service's data base of treatment episodes.

And when a court orders a defendant to be treated to restore his or her competency, the bill requires the clinical evaluating team to give the court-ordered health care provider information they obtained in the course of their evaluation. They must do this within 24 hours of the court's restoration order.

Finally, no later than five business days after a court determines that the defendant (1) will not become competent within the time that he or she can be detained or supervised or (2) has become competent, the person in charge of the treatment facility, or a designee, must give a copy of its progress report to the clinical team that originally evaluated the defendant.

The bill also extends the deadline for completing the initial competency exam from 15 calendar to five business days.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute