Oregon State Hospital leaders willfully disobeyed court orders, Appeals Court affirms

The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed Wednesday that Oregon State Hospital leaders “willfully” violated court orders when they did not promptly admit a criminal defendant with severe mental illness for treatment so he could aid in his own legal defense.

A three-judge panel unanimously upheld a June 2019 lower court ruling declaring the state psychiatric hospital in contempt of court for forcing the Washington County man, Carlos Zamora-Skarr, then 26, to stay locked in the county jail for more than six weeks as his mental state deteriorated.

Under a 2002 federal court order, Oregon must admit any defendants within seven days who are deemed unable to aid and assist in their own defense.

Zamora-Skarr was arrested and jailed in November 2018 on charges he burglarized a home. The next month, his attorney petitioned the court to have him treated, writing that he was “undergoing as severe a mental health crisis as a person could ever undergo” and was completely out of touch with reality, including not knowing who he was.

Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2020/12/oregon-state-hospital-leaders-willfully-disobeyed-court-orders-appeals-court-affirms.html