| A criminal defendant must be competent in order to stand trial. This means a defendant must understand the proceedings against him and assist counsel in a rational manner. If found incompetent, the defendant is remanded to treatment for competency restoration; California law provides restoration treatment may be either inpatient or outpatient. Significant research has been conducted on the methods of determining incompetency, factors affecting ability of a defendant to be restored, the dangerousness of an incompetent defendant, and different methods of incompetency restoration treatment. Few cases and psychological studies have addressed the effect of venue of treatment program on the outcome of competency restoration. Therefore, this study analyzes different restoration venues provided for in each 9th circuit state as compared to California which include: inpatient psychiatric hospital, outpatient treatment program, and in jail restoration treatment. This paper aims to examine venues utilized outside California in order to comment on the policy decision by the California Supreme Court banning in-jail restoration treatment. |
