James v. State

While he was an inmate, Defendant was charged with ten counts of assaulting an officer. Defendant was found not criminally responsible by reason by mental disease or defect and was ordered committed to the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Defendant’s prison sentence was tolled while he remained committed. Approximately five years later, the superior court ordered Defendant to be discharged from DHHS custody, finding by clear and convincing evidence that he no longer suffered from a mental disease or defect. Defendant was subsequently remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of his prison sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the evidence supported the trial court’s finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that Defendant’s dangerousness was not the result of a mental disease or defect and that, therefore, DHHS could no longer maintain Defendant in its custody. View "James v. State" on Justia Law