FREDIA POWELL, ET AL. v. MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL.
Court of Appeals of Maryland, McDonald, August 28, 2017,
Commitment- Maryland’s Competency Commitment Statute does not include a hard deadline for admission to a psychiatric hospital and does not empower a circuit court judge to set one.

(Dissent- Getty- Would affirm dismissal in entirety)

Getty’s “dissent” is more like a concur in part, dissent in part. Also, the “critical” aspect “missed” by the majority opinion was answered on the second page of that opinion… so… ummmm… gg

Facts: Baltimore City Circuit Court judges “adopted a practice of requiring admission of a defendant to a hospital within one day of the issuance of the commitment order.”
The Circuit Court found each of the Appellants – defendants in separate criminal cases – to be incompetent to stand trial and dangerous. The court committed each of them individually to a State psychiatric facility. Each order included a handwritten addition requiring that the defendant be admitted within one day of the commitment order.
Instead of being admitted within one day of the commitment order, as stated in the handwritten addition to each form order, the Appellants were admitted between 12 and 36 days after the dates of their respective commitment orders.
When MDH failed to admit them by that deadline, the defendants sued. The suit was based on the Maryland competency statutes as well as constitutional Due Process rights.
The trial judge dismissed the suit, and the defendants appealed.

Held: The Court held that the competency statutes do not include a deadline and the circuit court doesn’t have the authority to set one under the statute. Additionally, a delay in commitment does not violate the Due Process clause of the Constitution unless it is unreasonable. However, the patients may try to show that their Due Process rights were violated at trial.

Competency– A defendant is “incompetent to stand trial” if he is unable to understand the proceedings or to assist in his defense
Competency – Due Process- It is a violation of the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution to try a defendant who is incompetent
Competency- If a defendant appears incompetent or alleges incompetence, the trial court must determine competency
Competency- A defendant who is found incompetent, a judge must determine whether he is dangerous.
Competency- If a defendant is found incompetent and dangerous, the judge may order commitment to a Health Department facility until:
(i) the defendant no longer is incompetent to stand trial;
(ii) the defendant no longer is, because of mental retardation or a mental disorder, a danger to self or the person or property of others; or (iii) there is not a substantial likelihood that the defendant will become competent to stand trial in the foreseeable future.
Competency- A defendant that is “not likely to become competent in the foreseeable future” may be committed civilly.
Competency- Dismissal of Criminal Charges- Criminal charges are dismissed against an incompetent defendant after a period of years (3-5 or the maximum sentence, if less than 3/5) unless the State petitions for an extension