Jails

Appeals Court Rejects Utah Challenge of Class-Action Suit

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver will not hear a case about Utah’s efforts to stall a class action lawsuit over mental health treatment in the state’s jails. The Standard-Examiner reports (http://bit.ly/2emtf06 ) that the Utah Attorney General’s Office asked the court to consider its challenge of a ruling certifying the Disability Law Center’s suit as a class action. The appeals …


Defendants Are Stacked Up in Utah Jails Awaiting Mental Treatment

Utah’s system of handling mentally ill criminal defendants appears to be failing, a federal judge said in allowing a civil rights lawsuit to proceed against the state. Because of a persistent backlog at the Utah State Hospital, people judged to be mentally incompetent to stand trail are stacked up in county jails awaiting treatment to restore their competency, the Disability …