KENT COUNTY, Mich. — In this country, you are entitled to a fair and speedy trial; it's what's called the due process of law and it's a right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
In this county, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is protecting this right by speeding up this process, conducting first opinion forensic evaluations after recently receiving state approval.
"I think there is a duty and even a responsibility to provide excellent evaluation services," said Daniel Post, director of forensic evaluation services at Pine Rest.
"I mean, it's written into the law, right?" Post said.
Competency v. Criminal Responsibility
In the criminal justice system, when a person who appears to be suffering from mental illness is charged with a crime, a judge or an attorney may refer them for a forensic evaluation.
There are two types of forensic evaluations — competency and criminal responsibility.
A competency evaluation determines the defendant's current mental state, including their ability to understand the court proceedings and assist in their defense.
"Do you know what's going on right now?" Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said.
Here, there are three possible outcomes.
If the defendant is found competent, the legal proceedings against them continue as normal. If they are found incompetent but restorable, they may be ordered into a treatment program. The charges against them are not typically dropped and legal proceedings are paused until, ideally, they are able to return to court in a healthier mental state.
If, however, a defendant is found incompetent and not restorable, their charges are typically dropped and they are ordered into a treatment program.
Conversely, a criminal responsibility evaluation determines the defendant's mental state at the time of the crime.
"At the time, were they able to conform their conduct to the requirements of the law or did their mental illness cause them to not be able to do so?" Becker said.
Here, there are two possible outcomes.
If a defendant, despite their mental health, is found criminally responsible for their actions, legal proceedings against them continue as normal. If they are found legally insane, though, they are committed to a mental health facility where they may spend more time in confinement than they would in prison.
Additionally, while a mental health professional conducts these evaluations and provides their opinion, a judge ultimately determines whether a defendant is competent to stand trial or criminally responsible for their actions.
"We feel like it's a great privilege to be able to do that now, to be able to formally help folks," Post said.
A tremendous backlog
For years in Michigan, the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Washtenaw County was the only institution certified by the state to conduct first opinion forensic evaluations.
This, combined with the more recent rise in mental health awareness, led to delays in the criminal justice system.
"We were having people sit in jail for a year waiting to get competent, waiting for an evaluation," Becker said.
Becker says defendants in Kent County are referred for forensic evaluations around once a week, many of whom are charged with misdemeanors.
These lesser offenses were "clogging up the system," preventing felony cases from reaching trial in a more timely fashion.
"There was a tremendous backlog," he said.
A tremendous benefit
Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is helping to shoulder the load.
In April, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services certified Pine Rest's psychological consultation center to be able provide first opinion forensic evaluations for criminal cases in Kent, Ottawa and Barry counties.
"We are able to build relationships with the prosecutors and defense attorneys and judges in our backyard," Post said. We're able to serve our community, and do so with a lot of integrity, but also quickly."
After only being able offer their services as a second opinion, Pine Rest now does around 20 to 30 forensic evaluations a week.
"We feel like it's a great privilege to be able to do that now, to be able to formally help folks," Post said.
In Kent County, the money and, more importantly, time spent on defendants waiting for an evaluation has been reduced.
"At least a month, maybe two months difference," Becker said. "A tremendous benefit."
"We're fortunate in West Michigan, resource rich," he said. "I think it's something to be celebrated."
Kent
