PORTLAND — The Ninth Circuit Court on Monday, Aug. 16, decided the Oregon State Hospital must again admit certain patients within seven days, overturning a federal judge’s May 2020 ruling that put a pause on that directive.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman modified a 2002 court order requiring the state psychiatric hospital to admit people no longer than seven days after they’ve been found unable to aid and assist in their own defense. His decision removes the time limit on keeping those patients in jail to accommodate the state hospital’s limited admissions policy as the pandemic worsened.

Advocacy group Disability Rights Oregon has long protested Mosman’s decision, saying that leaving patients in jail violates their constitutional rights. The group appealed the decision with the Ninth Circuit Court, urging the judges to consider the constitutional rights of patients awaiting trial.

The judges sided with Disability Rights Oregon, ruling the state hospital must resume admitting aid-and-assist patients within a week. They also asked Mosman to assess whether a modification to the admissions policy for aid-and-assist patients is still necessary in the long-term, considering things like the hospital’s capacity and its ability to comply with public health rules during this phase of the pandemic.

“Our hope is that the judge determines a modification is no longer necessary,” Cooper told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

A state hospital spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The state hospital began staggering admissions at the beginning of the pandemic, converting two of its units to test and monitor newly-admitted patients for two weeks before placing them in the general population. That required the state hospital to limit its pace of admissions.

Those who would otherwise have been admitted remained in Oregon jails.

Disability Rights Oregon argued in a court filing that Mosman’s May 2020 decision to suspend the seven-day rule did not take into account the urgent need for patients to be transferred out of jails. When patients are kept in jail, Cooper said, they often experience delays in receiving court-ordered mental health treatment.

Cooper said with the return to the seven-day rule, Disability Rights Oregon anticipates the state hospital will admit up to 17 new aid-and-assist patients as early as next week.

“Yesterday’s decision was an absolute victory for people who need treatment and not punishment,” Cooper said. “It’s a win because it recognizes that even in a global pandemic, constitutional rights are still paramount.”