Justice Court chief hampered by lack of jurisdiction in competency cases
Las Vegas Justice Court Chief Judge Joe Bonaventure on Friday said his court lacked jurisdiction to hear motions to dismiss charges and release mentally ill detainees now languishing in jail.
The cases will now return to Clark County District Court, where the motions to dismiss were first heard. On July 31, District Judge Jennifer Togliatti, who presides over competency cases, said she lacked authority to hear the motions and sent them back to their original courts for a decision.
However, Bonaventure pointed out it was in District Court that defendants were ruled incompetent and a competency finding is required prior to their cases being returned to their courts of origin for further proceedings.
"Therefore, this most recent ruling is a District Court ruling, which causes the District Court to retain jurisdiction until treatment," he said during defendant Angela Scott's hearing. "It's incumbent on the District Court to facilitate the transfer to a treating facility."
Scott faces a pending felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon. Bonaventure's decision will apply to 23 other motions in cases that were returned to Justice Court.
More than 30 motions were recently filed by the Clark County public defender's office claiming the state is violating the constitutional rights of mentally ill inmates. The inmates in question have been waiting at the Clark County Detention Center beyond Nevada's 14-day requirement to get them into Lake's Crossing Center in Sparks, which is the state's only maximum-security psychiatric facility that evaluates and treats offenders to restore their competency.
On Sept. 1, the state's 14-day requirement will decrease to seven days under terms of a 2014 federal lawsuit settlement. The wait times for those involved in the motions range from 90 days to 150 days.
Friday's decision puts those on the wait list in limbo, said Clark County Deputy Public Defender Christy Craig. She filed the motions to have charges against the mentally ill inmates dismissed.
"That leave these defendants with no legal outlet," she said.
Two separate motions to dismiss charges against mentally ill inmates were denied in District Court on Thursday.
Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3843. Find her on Twitter:@YeseniaAmaro.
