Bill Text: NJ A2335 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the "Mental Health Court Pilot Program" in several vicinages.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee [A2335 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-A2335-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes the "Mental Health Court Pilot Program" in several vicinages.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mental health courts and supplementing Title 2B of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. There is hereby established a "Mental Health Court Pilot Program," which shall have as a purpose the diversion of certain nonviolent mentally ill and mentally disabled offenders away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate treatment. The mental health court shall be administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts and shall be established, as it so determines, in one northern, one central, and one southern vicinage of this State.
2. The Mental Health Court Pilot Program shall hear cases involving defendants charged with the commission of a nonviolent petty disorderly persons offense or a disorderly persons offense and who either suffer from a mental illness or mental disability.
3. a. All municipal court cases in the vicinages selected by the Administrative Office of the Courts involving persons charged with nonviolent petty disorderly persons offenses or disorderly persons offenses who preliminarily qualify for admission to the Mental Health Court Pilot Program shall, prior to an arraignment, be assigned or transferred to that program.
b. A defendant will be preliminarily qualified if they previously or currently have been diagnosed by a mental health expert as suffering from mental illness or mental disability or have manifested obvious signs of mental illness or mental disability during arrest or confinement or before any court.
c. Motions for transfer into the Mental Health Court Pilot Program may be made by the defense or the prosecutor accompanied by documentation or testimony in support thereof and shall be heard by the judge assigned to the Mental Health Court Pilot Program, who shall make the final determination of a defendant's eligibility.
d. Any transfer of a defendant into the Mental Health Court Pilot Program, unless specifically objected to by the defense counsel, shall be deemed a waiver of the defendant's right to a speedy trial and formal discovery, other than the providing of documentation relating to the defendant's mental health status and all available statements and police reports.
e. If the assigned judge determines that the defendant is mentally ill or disabled, the defendant shall be eligible for the Mental Health Court Pilot Program.
f. Once a defendant is
accepted into the Mental Health Court Pilot Program, the defendant's right to a
speedy trial may be reinstated upon a written demand.
4. a. The court shall order an eligible defendant to enter a "short term care facility" as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.1987, c.116 (C.30:4-27.2) as a voluntary admission patient, or other appropriate treatment facility in the community for screening services and treatment and shall stay any further proceeding until the release of the defendant. The court shall facilitate the defendant's admission into an appropriate program.
b. If the defendant willfully fails to comply with the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or at any time refuses to participate in an individualized treatment plan established for his care or treatment, or otherwise refuses to comply with the terms of the court order, the defendant shall be returned to custody.
5. The Supreme Court of New Jersey may adopt court rules appropriate or necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would create a Mental Health Court Pilot Program with the purpose of diverting certain nonviolent mentally ill and mentally disabled offenders away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate treatment. The mental health court would be administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts and established, as it so determined, in one northern, one central, and one southern vicinage of this State. The Mental Health Court Pilot Program would hear cases involving defendants who are charged with the commission of a nonviolent petty disorderly persons offense or a disorderly persons offense, and who suffer from a mental illness or mental disability.
This pre-trial intervention program is based on a model program created within the criminal court system in the State of Florida.
