Navigating the criminal justice system is challenging for anyone charged with a crime. Those also experiencing mental illness face greater challenges and are especially vulnerable to unjust treatment and harmful consequences.
Attorneys at Simmrin Law Group are committed to offering individuals experiencing mental illness and facing criminal charges high-quality, effective legal representation. Partner with a knowledgeable Ventura mental health lawyer from our firm to ensure you understand all your legal options, are treated fairly by the criminal justice system, and receive an outcome that best serves your needs.
Criminal Justice Challenges for Those with Mental Health Conditions
Even the most experienced, best-intentioned law enforcement officers can misunderstand the symptoms of mental illness or lack the training to de-escalate a situation provoked by a mental health condition.
People experiencing panic attacks, manic episodes, or psychotic breaks may be perceived as violent offenders or as acting under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Instead of receiving mental health help, these individuals are charged with crimes and entered into the criminal justice system.
In many cases, these individuals are confused by their situations, unable to communicate their health conditions to law enforcement, and unsure of how to protect themselves and their rights. A mental health attorney in Ventura can address these needs and will advocate for the health and safety of these at-risk citizens.
For a free legal consultation with a mental health lawyer serving Ventura, call (310) 896-2723
Your Ventura Mental Health Attorney Will Fight Unwarranted Involuntary Detainments
California allows peace officers and authorized medical personnel to place people experiencing mental distress under 72-hour involuntary holds in a mental health facility. These 5150 holds can only be issued if the person in distress presents a threat to themselves or others or cannot provide for their needs of food, shelter, and clothes because of a disabling mental illness.
While these holds are intended to provide for the safety of the person in distress and society overall, they can be issued in error. Sometimes even experts misinterpret symptoms. Other times, an angry family member, ex, or significant other calls law enforcement to an intense argument under dishonest pretenses, making false claims about their adversary’s words or actions.
If your doctors determine you remain a threat to yourself or others or suffer from a grave mental disability, they can seek additional, longer involuntary holds. If you are placed under a 5150 hold, you can not refuse that initial detainment. However, you should immediately secure legal representation from a mental health lawyer in Ventura.
How a Lawyer Can Help
Should doctors pursue further detainment through a 14-day 5250 hold, you are automatically given the opportunity to fight this decision in a Certified Review Hearing. A mental health lawyer in Ventura will investigate all aspects of your situation, prepare you for the hearing, and advocate for your release during the hearing.
The burden is on the facility to prove why you need to stay, not on you to prove why you should be released. Your lawyer will challenge the facility’s claims and legal standing, and will likely still offer evidence to prove you do not meet the criteria for involuntary detainment. With extensive knowledge of how these hearings work, your lawyer will offer you a stronger defense than you can provide on your own or with less-experienced representation.
Ventura Mental Health Lawyer Near Me (310) 896-2723
Mental Health Diversion Programs
In recent years, California has codified mental health diversion programs as an option other than incarceration for offenders experiencing mental illness. If you qualify for this option, your Ventura mental health attorney from Simmrin Law Group will request you be considered for a program rather than jail, submitting evidence to support your qualifications.
How to Qualify for a Mental Health Diversion Program
Mental health diversion programs are one type of “pre-trial” diversion California has enacted. Criminal proceedings are postponed for offenders who qualify for and request a program. The prosecution can restart criminal proceedings if the offender fails to fulfill the program’s requirements.
If the offender completes the program, the criminal charges are dropped or dismissed and do not appear on the offender’s criminal record. To qualify for consideration into a program:
- You must have received an official mental health diagnosis within the previous five years, and the condition must be treatable
- Your mental illness must have played a role in your criminal behavior
- You agree to all conditions of the program
- You waive your right to a speedy trial
- You are not a danger to society
Disqualifying Factors
There are disqualifying factors as well:
- You commit specific violent or sex-related crimes
- Your mental issue is borderline personality disorder, anti-social personality disorder, or pedophilia
- You have multiple prior convictions
Judges weigh these factors and other circumstances of your situation in deciding the outcome.
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A Ventura Mental Health Lawyer Will Protect You at Trial
If you do not understand the charges against you or cannot assist with your own defense, you are considered incompetent to stand trial. It would be unjust for you to go through a trial that could result in life-changing consequences while you are in a vulnerable mental state. A mental health lawyer in Ventura will insist on and ensure you undergo an appropriate psychiatric evaluation to determine competency.
Should you be found incompetent to stand trial, criminal proceedings will be postponed, and you will be committed to a mental health facility for treatment. Once you reach competency, proceedings will resume. If you do not achieve competency after three years, you will undergo proceedings to determine your long-term care.
In either case, your Ventura mental health attorney will continue to give you skilled and compassionate representation.
Protection for the Legally Insane
Offenders who were unaware of their criminal actions, even as they committed them or did not understand their actions as wrong, may be classified as legally insane. If you fit either of these criteria, your mental health attorney in Ventura will represent you at a sanity hearing and pursue treatment, rather than punishment, for your condition.
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We Are on Your Side
When a mental disorder causes criminal behavior, you need medical help, not incarceration. Simmrin Law Group is committed to fighting to get you proper treatment, not harmful punishment. Visit our contact page to arrange for a free and confidential consultation with an experienced Ventura mental health lawyer and start working toward a more healthy, hopeful future today.
Call or text (310) 896-2723 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form