Mental health officials deny suit’s claims

David Kihara

Friday, July 29, 2005 | 9:40 a.m.

Nevada mental health officials denied they are violating the due process of detainees at county jails, according to federal court documents filed on Thursday.

Responding to a lawsuit, state officials disputed accusations that they refused to provide prompt transportation to inmates from county jails to Lakes Crossing Center for the Mentally Disordered Offender, according to the court filing.

Lakes Crossing in Sparks is the 48-bed facility that treats pre-trial detainees who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial. Inmates are sent to Lakes Crossing so they can become mentally competent to stand trial.

The officials stated that there is a long waiting list to get into the facility, but they are currently working to shorten the waiting time to get into the facility.

"Because of the increase in the number of commitments, (Lakes Crossing) has been working with all involved parties for several months in an attempt to reduce the waiting list," according to court filings.

The Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center brought the lawsuit against Carlos Brandenburg, administrator of the Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, Elizabeth Neighbors, director of Lakes Crossing, and Michael Willden, director of the Department of Human Resources, on June 24.

The suit accuses the officials of taking too long to bring detainees from county jails to Lakes Crossing, saying that "results in a delay in detainees receiving restorative mental health treatment," according to the original complaint.

Such holdups end up preventing detainees from regaining the mental capacity to proceed to trial or have their charges dismissed, among other things, according to the suit.

The suit also seeks an injunction that would require Lakes Crossing to accept detainees held at the Clark County Detention Center.

In their response to the preliminary injunction, the defendants state that there is currently not enough space or resources at Lakes Crossing for any additional detainees.

Neighbors stated that increasing the population of Lakes Crossing by 50 percent "would reduce the programming by a large amount" and would lead to the "unavailability of staff, space and equipment" according to an affidavit.

An increase would also force inmates to sleep on mattresses in the gymnasium or even in hallways because space is so limited, according to Neighbor's affidavit.

She said she has been meeting with judges, deputy district attorneys and public defenders from Clark County and Washoe County to develop more efficient hearings and a better way to transport detainees from the county jails to Lakes Crossing.

The defendants also said it takes a court order to admit or release someone from Lakes Crossing.

"Therefore, (Lakes Crossing) is at the mercy of the courts and the prosecutor and the defense attorney," according to the court filings.