HILLSBORO – The state of Oregon came perilously close to being found in contempt of court Wednesday for ignoring a Washington County judge’s orders to evaluate a defendant’s mental health. Though a contempt ruling was not issued, the possibility lingers.

Wednesday’s proceedings laid bare Oregon’s failure to uphold the due process rights of defendants with mental illness by allowing them to languish in jails while awaiting treatment – sometimes for months on end.

The hearing also demonstrated the stark consequences of the Legislature’s inaction in the face of a statewide crisis of criminal cases involving people with mental illness winding through the courts. Oftentimes they result in homeless mentally ill people accused of minor crimes being locked up far longer than a person would spend in jail if convicted of that crime.

Justice is delayed or denied for the accused and crime victims alike because the Oregon State Hospital is full, causing a gargantuan bottleneck of criminal defendants who need entry for evaluations or treatment of their mental illnesses before they can stand trial, but who instead are confined to county jail cells.

Judge D. Charles Bailey, pictured in 2016. Kristyna Wentz-Graff/The Oregonian

In the Washington County case, Circuit Court Judge D. Charles Bailey had ordered the Oregon State Hospital to admit 26-year-old Carlos Zamora-Skaar so a psychiatrist could examine him and advise whether he could aid his defense against first-degree burglary charges.

Criminal defendants have a right to understand the charges they face and to be able to assist their attorneys, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Defendants’ cases are put on hold until they are of sound enough mind to provide that assistance.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled, in 2003, that Oregon defendants in need of mental health assessments or treatment must be admitted to the state mental hospital within seven days.

Despite those rulings and Bailey’s order, which invoked the court-approved seven-day deadline, the Oregon State Hospital has not granted Zamora-Skaar entry for over three months.

That denial led his attorney, Amanda Thibeault, to ask Bailey to find the state in contempt.

Craig Johnson, a senior assistant attorney general, conceded in court filings that the state does not abide by the deadlines but said they are “arbitrary” and unenforceable anyway.

Enforcing the deadlines “would be catastrophic” and create “onerous obligations” for the Oregon State Hospital, Johnson said.

The facility is full, he said, and dozens of people are on an entry waitlist. The hospital’s parent agency, the Oregon Health Authority, cannot pay the overtime required for staff to attend to all people who have been ordered there for treatment.

An Oregon State Hospital spokeswoman did not respond Wednesday to requests to interview Patrick Allen, the Health Authority director, and Dolly Matteucci, the state hospital superintendent, about the waitlist problems. Gov. Kate Brown’s office previously called for the hospital to follow court-imposed deadlines, describing non-compliance as an “immediate issue.”

Zamora-Skaar was present at the hearing Wednesday, shackled and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit unbuttoned to his navel. He muttered and shouted throughout, sometimes drowning out the arguing lawyers.

Bailey indicated he was not convinced by Johnson’s arguments.

Zamora-Skaar had never appeared as unstable as he did Wednesday, the judge said, underscoring why mentally ill people ought not be subject to unjustly long jail stays – only giving more credence to the federal court orders saying so.

“Our jails are not the appropriate place for these folks,” Bailey said.

He turned to the state’s lawyers: “You cannot ignore this court’s order.”

Nevertheless, Bailey did not find the state in contempt.

Given Zamora-Skaar’s clear mental illness an evaluation was unnecessary, Bailey said. He instead signed a new order demanding Zamora-Skaar be treated at the Oregon State Hospital until lucid enough to face his charges.

Bailey said he may find the state in contempt “going forward” if it does not abide by his orders.

The judge’s treatment order set a new seven-day clock for Zamora-Skaar’s entry to the mental hospital.

Thibeault, the defense attorney, said she will again ask for a contempt ruling if the state does not admit him by the deadline.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

GFriedman@Oregonian.com