The study examined judges' reasons for ordering pretrial forensic
evaluation instead of civil commitment for persons with mental illness who
are arrested. Fifty-five of 58 judges acknowledged having concerns about
the adequacy of treatment or confinement in the civil mental health system,
and 31 reported ordering pretrial forensic evaluations as a means of
ensuring adequate treatment for patients who appear in their courts. Other
frequently endorsed reasons for ordering these evaluations included lack of
confidence in the ability to civilly commit mentally ill offenders and
concerns about their being discharged prematurely. This study confirms
suspicions that judges order pretrial evaluations to fill perceived gaps in
the civil system.
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