title: Limitations of constitutional protections in Jackson v. Indiana pertaining to charges with no statute of limitations.
abstract: There has been a long-standing link between the civil and criminal commitment procedures for individuals found incompetent to stand trial (IST). In the criminal system, when restoration of competency fails to be realized in a reasonable time, the civil commitment process becomes the default system for commitment. While there have been recent calls for improved mechanisms for predicting competence restorability, there has been little attention paid to individuals who can oscillate indefinitely between commitment in both the criminal and civil systems. We provide an example of one such case where an individual falls into the legal space that sits outside of the judicial guidance outlined in the landmark case Jackson v. Indiana. This review of Oregon public documents surrounding an ongoing murder case highlights the potential for indefinite detention of individuals who have been charged with serious crimes that do not have a statute of limitations, who are unlikely to be restored to competency to stand trial, and who are inconsistently found to be dangerous under civil commitment standards.
authors.affiliation: JD, Center for Forensic Services (CFS-Ward F6), Western State Hospital, 9601 Steilacoom Boulevard SW, Tacoma, WA 98498. rodolla@dshs.wa.gov.
authors.forename: Liban
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodol
authors.forename: Martin F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Epson
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bloom
mesh_terms: D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005544:Forecasting; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D009922:Oregon; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013997:Time Factors