Lawyer seeks Steven Brooks mental health hearing

By Michelle Rindels, Associated Press

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 | 1:48 p.m.

The lawyer for a former Nevada lawmaker charged in a car chase and a police confrontation in California asked a judge that his client be enrolled in a court program that will push him into mental health treatment.

Ex-Assemblyman Steven Brooks appeared Tuesday in a Victorville, Calif., court along with his public defender and was ordered to appear again Friday, according to court records. A decision could be made then about whether Brooks is eligible for the mental health court program, which diverts offenders into treatment programs and holds them accountable along the way.

Officials with the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office opposed the referral to mental health court, saying they hadn't received a diagnosis or other documentation to prove that Brooks has a mental condition.

"We have nothing in our hands that would state that he's even a candidate," said DA spokesman Chris Lee.

Brooks has pleaded not guilty to charges of resisting an officer, felony evading and assault on a police animal that were filed after his arrest March 28 along Interstate 15 in Victorville.

The arrest, which was his third in a matter of months, came just hours after his fellow lawmakers voted to expel him from the Assembly. Legislators cited a pattern of bizarre behavior from Brooks that made them feel unsafe in the legislative building.

Meanwhile, Brooks faces other cases in Nevada.

He was indicted last month on a felony charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. That charge, which stems from a January arrest in North Las Vegas after he purportedly voiced threats against a fellow legislator, alleges Brooks shouldn't have had a gun because he was an unlawful marijuana user.

He also was charged with a felony and three lesser counts in a Feb. 10 arrest that came as police responded to a domestic disturbance involving his estranged wife.

Brooks' lawyer, Mitchell Posin, told The Associated Press that the California case needs to be processed before the Nevada cases can move forward. At a hearing Tuesday, the court scheduled a July status check for charges from the Feb. 10 arrest.