ORS 161.370 — Proceedings upon finding of unfitness; commitment; rules

161.370 Proceedings upon finding of unfitness; commitment; rules. (1) When the defendant’s fitness to proceed is drawn in question, the issue shall be determined by the court as described in ORS 161.363. (2)(a) If the court determines under ORS 161.363 that the defendant lacks fitness to proceed, the criminal proceeding against the defendant shall be suspended and the court shall proceed in accordance with this subsection. (b) After making the determination under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the court shall receive a recommendation from a community mental health program director or the director’s designee, and from any local entity that would be responsible for treating the defendant if the defendant were to be released in the community, concerning whether appropriate community restoration services are present and available in the community. (c) If the parties agree as to the appropriate action under this section, the court may, after making all findings required by law, enter any order authorized by this section. If the parties do not agree as to the appropriate action, the court and the parties shall, at a hearing, consider an appropriate action in the case, and the court shall make a determination and enter an order necessary to implement the action. In determining the appropriate action, the court shall consider the primary and secondary release criteria as defined in ORS 135.230, the least restrictive option appropriate for the defendant, the needs of the defendant and the interests of justice. Actions may include but are not limited to: (A) Commitment for the defendant to gain or regain fitness to proceed under subsection (3) or (4) of this section; (B) An order to engage in community restoration services, as recommended by the community mental health program director or designee, under subsection (6) of this section; (C) Commencement of a civil commitment proceeding under ORS 426.070 to 426.170, 426.701 or 427.235 to 427.292; (D) Commencement of protective proceedings under ORS chapter 125; or (E) Dismissal of the charges pursuant to ORS 135.755 and in accordance with ORS 161.367 (6). (d) If the court, while considering or ordering an appropriate action under this subsection, does not order the defendant committed to a state mental hospital or other facility, but finds that appropriate community restoration services are not present and available in the community, for any defendant remaining in custody after such determination, the court shall set a review hearing seven days from the date of the determination under paragraph (a) of this subsection. At the review hearing, the court shall consider all relevant information and determine if commitment to the state mental hospital or other facility is appropriate under subsection (3) or (4) of this section, or if another action described in paragraph (c) of this subsection is appropriate. At the conclusion of the hearing the court shall enter an order in accordance with the defendant’s constitutional rights to due process. (e) If the court determines that the appropriate action in the case is an order for the defendant to engage in community restoration services, but the defendant has a pending criminal case, warrant or hold in one or more other jurisdictions, the other jurisdictions shall, within two judicial days of becoming aware of the proceeding under this section, communicate with the court and the other jurisdictions, if applicable, to develop a plan to address the interests of all jurisdictions in the defendant in a timely manner. (3)(a) If the most serious offense in the charging instrument is a felony, the court shall commit the defendant to the custody of the superintendent of a state mental hospital or director of a facility designated by the Oregon Health Authority if the defendant is at least 18 years of age, or to the custody of the director of a secure intensive community inpatient facility designated by the authority if the defendant is under 18 years of age, if the court makes the following findings: (A) The defendant requires a hospital level of care due to public safety concerns if the defendant is not hospitalized or in custody or the acuity of symptoms of the defendant’s qualifying mental disorder; and (B) Based on the findings resulting from a consultation described in ORS 161.365 (1), if applicable, from any information provided by community-based mental health providers or any other sources, and primary and secondary release criteria as defined in ORS 135.230, the appropriate community restoration services are not present and available in the community. (b) If the defendant is committed under this subsection, the community mental health program director, or director’s designee, shall at regular intervals, during any period of commitment, review available community restoration services and maintain communication with the defendant and the superintendent of the state mental hospital or director of the facility in order to facilitate an efficient transition to treatment in the community when ordered. (c) If the court does not order the commitment of the defendant under this subsection, the court shall proceed in accordance with subsection (2)(c) of this section to determine and order an appropriate action other than commitment. (4)(a) If the most serious offense in the charging instrument is a misdemeanor, the court may not commit the defendant to the custody of the superintendent of a state mental hospital or director of a facility designated by the Oregon Health Authority if the defendant is at least 18 years of age, or to the custody of the director of a secure intensive community inpatient facility designated by the authority if the defendant is under 18 years of age, unless the court: (A)(i) Receives a recommendation from a certified evaluator that the defendant requires a hospital level of care due to the acuity of symptoms of the defendant’s qualifying mental disorder; and (ii) Receives a recommendation from a community mental health program director, or director’s designee, that the appropriate community restoration services are not present and available in the community; or (B) Determines that the defendant requires a hospital level of care after making all of the following written findings: (i) The defendant needs a hospital level of care due to the acuity of the symptoms of the defendant’s qualifying mental disorder; (ii) There are public safety concerns; and (iii) The appropriate community restoration services are not present and available in the community. (b) If at the time of determining the appropriate action for the case, the court is considering commitment under paragraph (a)(A) of this subsection and: (A) Has not received a recommendation from a certified evaluator as to whether the defendant requires a hospital level of care due to the acuity of symptoms of the defendant’s qualifying mental disorder, the court shall order a certified evaluator to make such a recommendation. (B) Has not received a recommendation from the community mental health program director or designee concerning whether appropriate community restoration services are present and available in the community, the court shall order the director or designee to make such a recommendation. (c) If the court does not order the commitment of the defendant under this subsection, the court shall proceed in accordance with subsection (2)(c) of this section to determine and order an appropriate action other than commitment. (d) If the defendant is committed under this subsection, the community mental health program director, or director’s designee, shall at regular intervals, during any period of commitment, review available community restoration services and maintain communication with the defendant and the superintendent of the state mental hospital or director of the facility in order to facilitate an efficient transition to treatment in the community when ordered. (5) If the most serious offense in the charging instrument is a violation, the court may not commit the defendant to the custody of the superintendent of a state mental hospital or director of a facility designated by the Oregon Health Authority if the defendant is at least 18 years of age, or to the custody of the director of a secure intensive community inpatient facility designated by the authority if the defendant is under 18 years of age. (6)(a) If the court does not order the commitment of the defendant under subsection (3) or (4) of this section, if commitment is precluded under subsection (5) of this section or if the court determines that care other than commitment would better serve the defendant and the community, the court shall release the defendant, pursuant to an order that the defendant engage in community restoration services, until the defendant has gained or regained fitness to proceed, or until the court finds there is no substantial probability that the defendant will, within the foreseeable future, gain or regain fitness to proceed. The court may not order the defendant to engage in community restoration services in another county without permission from the other county. (b) The court may order a community mental health program director coordinating the defendant’s treatment in the community to provide the court with status reports on the defendant’s progress in gaining or regaining fitness to proceed. The director shall provide a status report if the defendant is not complying with court-ordered restoration services. (c) A community mental health program director coordinating the defendant’s treatment in the community shall notify the court if the defendant gains or regains fitness to proceed. The notice shall be filed with the court and may be filed electronically. The clerk of the court shall cause copies of the notice to be delivered to both the district attorney and the counsel for the defendant. (d) When a defendant is ordered to engage in community restoration services under this subsection: (A) The court may place conditions that the court deems appropriate on the release, including the requirement that the defendant regularly report to a state mental hospital or a certified evaluator for examination to determine if the defendant has gained or regained fitness to proceed. (B) Following discharge from commitment at a state mental hospital or other facility, and the court finds that the defendant has violated a condition of the release agreement, the court may order that the defendant be recommitted to the custody of the superintendent of the state mental hospital or director of the facility. (7)(a) As part of an order committing the defendant under this section, the court shall additionally determine whether the defendant may only be discharged to a facility that is of the most restrictive class under the classification system described in ORS 426.035, if the superintendent of the state mental hospital or director of the facility to which the defendant is committed determines that the defendant no longer requires a hospital level of care due to the acuity of the symptoms of the defendant’s qualifying mental disorder. (b) When making the determination described in this subsection, the court shall consider the charges, primary and secondary release criteria as defined in ORS 135.230 and public safety concerns, and may consider any other information relevant to the court’s determination. (c) A determination described in this subsection is a critical stage of the proceeding for purposes of ORS 147.500 to 147.550. (d) The court may reconsider a determination described in this subsection under the same circumstances in which the court may modify a release decision as defined in ORS 135.230. (e) A defendant whose release was denied under ORS 135.240 is not eligible for discharge, from the state hospital or other facility to which the defendant was committed under this section, to any other facility for treatment to gain or regain fitness to proceed. (8) The Oregon Health Authority shall establish by rule standards for the recommendation provided to the court described in subsection (2) of this section. [1971 c.743 §52; 1975 c.380 §5; 1993 c.238 §3; 1999 c.931 §§1,2; 2005 c.685 §6; 2009 c.595 §107; 2011 c.508 §1; 2011 c.724 §8; 2015 c.130 §2; 2017 c.49 §1; 2017 c.233 §3; 2017 c.628 §1; 2017 c.634 §16; 2019 c.311 §5; 2019 c.318 §2; 2019 c.538 §2a; 2021 c.395 §7; 2023 c.227 §2; 2025 c.559 §52]