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The Indiana House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code has given its support to a bill that would dismiss low-level charges if the defendant is found incompetent to stand trial.
The goal of House Bill 1238 is to shorten the wait times to go to trial by having more licensed professionals perform the competency exam.
The bill’s author, Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, said in committee Wednesday that the current version of the bill is better than the one she proposed last year.
“The whole intent of this bill is to speed up the process and make sure that not only is the victim guaranteed justice, but also the person who has been accused is guaranteed a quick and an opportune evaluation so the issue can be resolved,” McNamara said.
HB 1238 would allow a court to dismiss criminal charges without prejudice if the defendant has a certain diagnosis and is charged with a misdemeanor or Level 6 felony.
The bill was amended to also require the Division of Mental Health and Addiction to establish a training program to certify a competency evaluator to assist a court in determining competency.
Fountain Circuit Judge Stephanie Campbell testified in favor of the bill.
“This proposed legislation with the amendment will address these issues. More providers will be available to do the evaluations, and it will speed up the process significantly and decrease the costs,” Campbell said.
Courtney Curtis with the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council also spoke in favor of the bill.
“The majority of defendants who are evaluated for competency are found to be competent, but these evaluations are two-fold,” Curtis said. “It’s not just competency. It’s also, ‘Were you sane at the time that you committed your offense?’ And so, when we make these evaluations pending, not only does it stop the docket, but discovery on our criminal cases slows down.”
HB 1238 also received support from Michael Moore with the Indiana Public Defenders Council.
“We think this is a real balanced approach. We appreciate the work that’s been done,” Moore said.
Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Noblesville, spoke on the bill when he voted in its favor.
“I think this dovetails nicely with (House Enrolled Act) 1006 that we worked on last year,” Jeter said, referencing a mental health bill. “Hopefully as a committee we will keep working to try to get folks that have mental health issues and should not be in our criminal justice system, we need to keep working on that. I think these are all working together nicely.”
HB 1238 passed unanimously and has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, which had not put the it on the calendar at IL deadline.
For more on the state’s competency exam, pick up the Jan. 31, 2024, issue of Indiana Lawyer.
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