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Standing Order #2022-08 (effective November 15, 2022; a revision of Standing Order #2022-04 dated July 1, 2022): the Merced County Juvenile Court adopts the Merced County Juvenile Competency Protocol under Welfare and Institutions Code § 709, all parties, attorneys, agencies and organizations appearing before it complying (the statutory or rule provisions controlling in a conflict). The protocol: informal resolution encouraged in cases of relatively non-serious alleged conduct; on substantial evidence of a doubt as to the minor's competence, proceedings suspended and an expert psychologist or psychiatrist appointed (the panel of experts reviewed annually by January 31st; Attachment A, the letter to the expert); a Competency Determination Hearing generally within 15 court days for in-custody matters or 30 court days for out-of-custody matters; the minor's counsel providing documents to the expert within 10 court days (in custody) or 20 calendar days (out of custody) and the District Attorney within ten court days; the expert's report no less than two court days before the hearing and the court's copies no less than one court day before; a referral to the Central Valley Regional Center when the expert finds the minor developmentally disabled (a court date for its report within 45 to 60 days); a finding of incompetence by a preponderance of the evidence, a capacity determination for a minor under 14 years old, and dismissal of a petition containing only misdemeanor offenses; competency attainment services through the Department of Behavioral Health or the Merced County Probation Department, a Competency Attainment Plan Hearing, and reviews at least every 30 calendar days for minors in custody and every 45 calendar days out of custody; reevaluation and a Competency Attainment Hearing within 30 court days (in custody) or 45 court days (out of custody), within six months of the initial receipt of a recommendation, the total remediation period not exceeding one year; secure confinement not exceeding six (6) months from the finding of incompetence unless the court determines otherwise (up to 18 months for an offense described in WIC 707(b)); and statements made during the evaluation or the remediation not used against the minor.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Merced County > Superior Court of California, County of Merced
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF MERCED www.merced.courts.ca.gov 627 West 21st Street Merced CA 95340 STANDING ORDER #2022-08 EFFECTIVE November 15, 2022 Standing Order #2022-08 is a revision of Standing Order #2022-04 dated July 1, 2022 and shall replace said Standing Order. WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE § 709 PROCEDURES: JUVENILE COMPETENCY PROTOCOL Under the authority of Welfare and Institutions Code § 709, the Competency Protocol attached hereto is adopted by the Merced County Juvenile Court. All parties, attorneys, agencies and organizations appearing before the Merced County Juvenile Court shall comply with the provisions of the Competency Protocol. In the event the provisions of the Competency Protocol conflict with the Welfare and Institutions Code or California Rules of Court, the statutory or rule provisions shall control. This Standing Order is effective July 1, 2022. This Order shall continue unless modified or rescinded by a later Standing Order. The Juvenile Presiding Judge will review substantive proposed revisions and determine if stakeholder comment is required. Non-substantial revisions to the protocol may be approved by the Juvenile Presiding Judge without seeking comment from stakeholders. JENNIFER O. TRIMBLE PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE MERCED COUNTY JUVENILE COURT SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF MERCED www.merced.courts.ca.gov 627 West 21st Street Merced CA 95340 STANDING ORDER #2022-08 EFFECTIVE November 15, 2022 Merced County Juvenile Competency Protocol WIC 709 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page A. Introduction 3 B. Informal Resolution 3 C. Initiation of Competency Proceedings 3 D. Evaluation Process 4 E. Competency Hearings 6 F. Services for Attainment of Competency 7 G. Attainment of Competence 8 H. Competency Attainment Hearing 9 I. Secure Confinement During Competency Proceedings 10 J. General Provisions 10 ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: Letter to Expert for Evaluation or Reevaluation Attachment B: 709 Exchange of Confidential Information A. Introduction The purpose of this protocol is to comply with Welfare and Institutions Code, Section 709,1 and to provide guidance when statutes and rules of court are silent with respect to the procedures to be followed when addressing juvenile competency issues under Section 709. This protocol has been developed with input from juvenile justice stakeholders in Merced County, as required per Section 709(i). B. Informal Resolution Initiating and conducting competency to stand trial proceedings in cases involving relatively non-serious alleged delinquent conduct may be contrary to efforts to rehabilitate minors and protect public safety. Therefore, in cases where the parties share a good faith belief that a doubt exists as to the competence of the minor,2 the parties are encouraged to explore the possibility of an informal resolution of the case which does not require an adjudication of the pending petition. For example, the parties might agree, with the permission of the court, to refer the minor to a community-based program designed to address the alleged delinquent conduct. Upon successful completion of the program, the petition might be dismissed pursuant to Section 782. Although informal resolutions are agreements between the parties (the minor and the District Attorney), the probation department should play a role in identifying appropriate community-based services, such as mental health treatment services, which may support the implementation of such an informal resolution. When appropriate, parties are encouraged to consider requesting a consultation with the Juvenile Behavioral Health Court before proceeding with competency proceedings. C. Initiation of Competency Proceedings If minor’s counsel or the court expresses a doubt as to the competence of the minor, the court will determine whether substantial evidence raises a doubt as to the minor’s competence. Upon the court’s finding of substantial evidence of a doubt as to the minor’s competence, proceedings as to the minor shall be suspended.3 1. Upon suspension of the proceedings, unless the parties stipulate to a finding of incompetence or submit on the issue, the court shall appoint an expert psychologist or psychiatrist (“expert”), who is qualified to render an opinion as to the minor’s competence,4 to evaluate the minor, and express an opinion as to the minor’s competence.5 a. serve as juvenile competency experts (“the panel”). The court shall annually review the experts on the panel to confirm their qualifications and availability to render opinions as requested. The review must be completed by January 31st. b. Attachment “A” hereto is the form to be used in appointing an expert for evaluation of the minor. 1 Unless indicated otherwise, all references to code Sections are references to the Welfare and Institutions Code (W&IC). 2 The term “minor” refers to a person over whom the juvenile court has jurisdiction pursuant to Section 602 et seq., including an adult who is alleged to have committed a public offense prior to his or her 18th birthday. 3 See Section 709(a)(3). 4 See, Section 709(b)(1) and California Rules of Court, Rule 5.645(a)(2). 5 See, Section 709(b). c. Nothing in this Section shall be interpreted to preclude any party from engaging the services of other experts to consult with counsel and/or testify regarding issues pertaining to the competence of the minor. However, this does not allow a qualified expert retained or appointed by the DA to perform a competency evaluation on a minor without an order from the juvenile court. 2. Upon suspension of proceedings, the court shall set the matter for a Competency Determination Hearing. a. The Competency Determination Hearing shall be set as soon as reasonably practicable, consistent with the principles of due process and the goal of resolving juvenile delinquency expeditiously, generally within 15 court days for in-custody matters or 30 court days for out-of-custody matters. b. The court may exercise its discretion to continue the Competency Determination Hearing consistent with principles of due process and applicable statutes D. Evaluation Process. 1. The minor’s counsel will coordinate the evaluation process, including ensuring the interviews of the minor are scheduled in a timely fashion, and providing to the expert documents such as any social history information, school records, mental health information, juvenile hall incident reports, etc. that may have been completed for the minor. The minor’s counsel is to provide these documents to the expert within 10 court days of the Competency Hearing order if the minor is in custody. The minor’s counsel is to provide these documents to the expert within 20 calendar days if the minor is out of custody. The minor’s counsel shall itemize the information forwarded to the expert and supply the expert with the itemized form. Probation, Behavioral Health and the Office of Education are to cooperate with minor’s counsel by expeditiously providing the necessary documents. 2. The District Attorney (DA) will forward copies of all charging documents, police reports (present or past crimes), or any other information the DA may deem to be necessary or relevant to the minor’s alleged delinquent behavior, to the expert within ten court days of the Competency Hearing order. The DA shall itemize the information forwarded to the expert and supply the expert with the itemized form. 3. The expert shall consult with the minor’s counsel and any other person who has provided information to the court regarding the minor’s lack of competency.6 4. Should the minor be detained at a Merced County juvenile detention facility, probation shall assist with coordination of the abovementioned interview. 5. If the above interview is conducted at a Merced County juvenile detention facility, probation shall only be present in the interview room if there are safety concerns. 6. If the expert is of the opinion that the minor is not competent, then the expert shall express opinions as to the following: a. Specify the basis of incompetence: mental illness, mental disorder, 6 See, Section 709(b)(3). developmental disability or immaturity;7 b. What services does the expert believe might be furnished to the minor to assist the minor in attaining competency? c. Is there a substantial probability that the minor will attain competency in the foreseeable future? d. If the expert believes there is a substantial probability the minor will attain competency in the foreseeable future, how long would be a reasonable amount of time to wait before making the determination of whether there might be a substantial probability the minor will attain competence? e. If any information is unavailable to the expert, he or she shall note in the report the efforts made to obtain that information.8 7. The expert shall furnish a report complying with the court’s order of appointment to the court no less than two court days prior to the scheduled Competency Determination Hearing. The court will provide copies of the report to counsel and probation no less than one court day prior to the scheduled Competency Determination Hearing. 8. If the expert finds that the minor is “developmentally disabled,” then, regardless of the evaluator’s opinion with respect to the minor’s competence, the court shall appoint the “director of a regional center for developmentally disabled individuals” to evaluate the minor for the purpose of determining whether the minor is eligible for services under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act.9 a. Notwithstanding the time frames for assessments by a regional center as provided in Section 4643, the Central Valley Regional Center will endeavor, consistent with available resources, to expedite the completion of all court ordered assessments in order to accomplish the goals of this protocol. b. When a referral is made to the Central Valley Regional Center, the court clerk shall furnish copies of the related minute order to the Central Valley Regional Center within two court days. c. The DA and the minor’s counsel shall forward all material furnished to the expert to the Central Valley Regional Center within two court days. d. The Court will set a court date for the returned report within 45 to 60 days and the Central Valley Regional Center is to provide an update as to their progress of assessment and provide its report to the court as soon as completed.10 e. The court will provide copies of the report to counsel and probation. 7 An immaturity training aims at assisting the youth with gaining a rational and factual understanding of the allegations against him or her and the associated penalties; as well as, acquiring the ability to cooperate with an attorney in his or her own defense (Dusky vs. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960), 8 See Section 709(b)(3). 9 See, Section 709(b)(7). 10 IRC has a maximum of 120 calendar days unless client would be at imminent risk of placement in a more restrictive environment then assessment shall be performed in no event more than 60 days (See Section 4643). E. Competency Hearings11 1. If the court deems the evaluation received from the expert does not contain sufficient information, the evaluation is to be returned to the expert for further consideration. The expert shall furnish the amended report, complying with the court’s order of appointment to the court, no less than two court days prior to the next scheduled Competency Determination Hearing. 2. The court will provide copies of the amended report to counsel, no less than one court day prior to the next scheduled Competency Determination Hearing. 3. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, all material furnished by the DA and minor’s counsel to the expert shall be discoverable to all parties. 4. If the minor, through counsel and the DA, agree that the court may make a determination as to the minor’s competency based solely upon the contents of the evaluator’s report and arguments made by counsel, then the court may proceed to determine competency at the Competency Determination Hearing without receiving further evidence. 5. If either party wishes to present evidence in addition to that contained in the evaluator’s report, then the court shall set another Competency Determination Hearing as soon as reasonably practicable, consistent with the principles of due process and the goal of resolving juvenile delinquency expeditiously, generally within 15 court days for in-custody matters or 30 court days for out-of-custody matters. The hearing shall be scheduled in light of the needs of the parties to have sufficient time to procure the additional evidence, such as the time reasonably required to subpoena documents and witnesses. 6. If, after concluding the Competency Determination Hearing, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the minor is not competent, then the underlying delinquency proceedings shall remain suspended, and the court may make appropriate orders designed to assist the minor in attaining competence.12 7. If minor is under 14 years old at the time of the alleged incident, the court shall make a determination as to the minor’s capacity13 prior to deciding the issue of competence.14 8. If the petition contains only misdemeanor offenses and the minor is found incompetent, then the court shall dismiss the petition.15 9. If the court finds the minor not competent, a written copy of all discoverable material shall be forwarded by the DA and the minor’s counsel to probation within two court days of the latest Competency Hearing. a. The minor’s counsel is to utilize the Authorization to Exchange Confidential Information form (Attachment “B”) to obtain signatures from the minor and his or her parents or guardian and send a copy to probation. 11 See, Section 709. 12 See Section 709(g)(1). 13 See, California Penal Code Section 26. 14 See, Section 709(c). 15 See, Section 709(f). 10. If, after concluding the Competency Determination Hearing, the court finds that the minor is competent, then the underlying delinquency proceedings shall be reinstated. F. Services for Attainment of Competency. 1. If the minor is found incompetent and the court orders that the minor receive services to assist the minor in attaining competence, then the guidelines in this Section apply. 2. If the court deems it appropriate in light of the opinions expressed by the evaluator, and if the minor qualifies, the court will appoint the Department of Behavioral Health to provide competency attainment services. 3. If appointment of the Department of Behavioral Health is not appropriate or if the minor does not qualify for services, the court will refer the minor’s case to the Merced County Probation Department. a. Probation will be responsible for making recommendations to the court regarding what competency attainment services should be provided to the minor in light of the opinions expressed by the evaluator. b. Probation will be responsible for developing a plan for providing the recommended competency attainment services to the minor. c. Services shall be provided in the least restrictive environment consistent with public safety.16 d. Probation will be responsible for implementing the orders of the court regarding delivering competency attainment services to the minor as outlined below: i. If in the opinion of the expert the minor needs developmental maturity training, then the minor shall be provided with a developmental maturity training coordinated by probation. ii. If in the opinion of the expert the minor has developmental disabilities, then the case shall be referred to the Central Valley Regional Center to determine eligibility for services.17 iii. If in the opinion of the expert the minor has mental health concerns, probation will find a program that shall ensure appropriate mental health treatment services are offered to the minor. iv. If in the opinion of the expert the minor has educational concerns, then the Merced County Office of Education shall ensure appropriate recommendations for educational services are made to probation and probation will make the recommendations to the court. v. If it is determined the youth has private insurance, probation will ensure proper referrals are provided. e. The parties will cooperate with the work of probation. 16 See, Section 709(g)(1). 17 See, Sections 709(b)(7-9). f. Probation will prepare a report and submit it to the court and parties in a timely manner. 4. At the time the case is referred to probation or Department of Behavioral Health, the court will set a Competency Attainment Plan Hearing for the purpose of considering the recommendations of probation and the parties and then making orders with respect to providing such services to the minor. 5. Once the court has ordered remediation services, the court shall review the remediation services at least every 30 calendar days for minors in custody and every 45 calendar days for minors out of custody prior to the expiration of the remediation period. 6. If during the remediation service period the youth is in custody, the Department of Behavioral Health shall provide the court with suitable alternatives for continued delivery of remediation services upon release from custody.18 7. The court may exercise its discretion to set or continue the Competency Attainment Plan Hearing to a date other than those specified above. 8. The parties may offer additional evidence to the court regarding the proposed plan. 9. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may make orders that the minor receive services designed to assist the minor in attaining competence. 10. Probation, the Department of Behavioral Health, or any other entity that is providing competency attainment services, will furnish to the court and counsel a report to be considered at the Competency Attainment Plan Review Hearing. a. The report(s) will be provided to t h e court no less than two court days prior to the hearing. The court will provide a copy to the parties and probation no less than one court day before the hearing. b. The report will provide information regarding the services that have been provided to the minor and the extent to which the services are being effective in assisting the minor in attaining competence. The report will include any suggestions regarding modifying the competency attainment services plan previously ordered by the court. c. The report will be considered at the Competency Attainment Plan Review Hearing and the court will make further orders at the conclusion of the hearing, including, without limitation, orders setting a subsequent review hearing, orders to implement the services plan, orders to modify the services plan, orders regarding reassessing the competency of the minor as described below, or orders terminating the services plan and dismissing the case. G. Attainment of Competence. 1. If at any time the court is of the opinion that the minor may have attained competence, the court will refer the minor to an expert as described in Section C above who will be directed to reevaluate the minor to determine whether the minor has attained competence. 18 See, Section 709(g)(1). a. Attachment “A” hereto is the form to be used in appointing an expert for reevaluation of the minor. b. If practicable, the minor should be reevaluated by an expert who has previously evaluated the minor. c. The probation department will furnish the expert with all the relevant information for the case, including information received from the DA and minor’s counsel and the expert reports regarding the competency attainment services that have been provided to the minor. d. The expert shall render an opinion regarding whether the minor has attained competency. In addition, if the minor has not attained competency, then the expert shall also offer opinions on whether additional or different services might be effective in assisting the minor in attaining competency and whether there is a substantial probability that the minor will attain competency within the foreseeable future. If the expert believes it is premature to determine whether there is a substantial probability that the minor will attain competence within the foreseeable future, then the expert shall, if possible, express an opinion as to the amount of time reasonably necessary to make such a determination. 2. At the time the referral is made as described above, the court will set a Competency Attainment Hearing within 30 court days for in-custody matters or 45 court days for out-of-custody matters. H. Competency Attainment Hearing. 1. A Competency Attainment Hearing will be conducted as described above after the minor has received services, within six months of the initial receipt of a recommendation.19 2. The expert who has reevaluated the minor shall furnish a report, including the opinions, as described above, to the court no less than two court days before the hearing and the court will provide the report to probation and all parties no less than one court day before the hearing. 3. The procedures to be followed in conducting the Competency Attainment Hearing shall be the same as those provided above for the Competency Determination Hearing. 4. If the court finds that the minor has attained competence, then the pending delinquency proceedings shall be reinstated. 5. If the minor has not attained competence, then the court will make appropriate orders which may include ordering additional services while the proceedings remain suspended. 6. If the minor has not attained competence and the court determines that there is no substantial probability that competence will be attained in the foreseeable future as defined within the statute, then the court shall dismiss the petition as required by Section 709. The court may refer the minor for mental health treatment services, 19 See, Section 709(h)(1). guardianship services, and/or other services that may be available under the law.20 7. The total remediation period shall not exceed one year from the finding of incompetency.21 8. The parties should make recommendations to the court regarding appropriate further orders if a petition is dismissed because attainment of competence is not foreseeable. I. Secure Confinement During Competency Proceedings 1. Secure confinement cannot exceed six (6) months from the finding of incompetence, unless the court determines that it is in the best interests of the minor and the public’s safety. In making this determination, the court shall consider the following (Section 709(h)(5)(A)): a. Where the minor will have the best change of obtaining competence b. Whether the placement is the least restrictive setting appropriate for the minor c. Whether alternatives to secure conferment have been identified and pursued as well as why alternatives are not available or appropriate d. Whether the placement is necessary for the safety of the minor or others 2. In cases where a detained minor is charged with an offense described in WIC 707(b), the court may continue the minor’s detention for an additional year, but not to exceed 18 months from the finding of incompetence, after the court has considered the above criteria, and determined that it is in the best interest of the minor and the public’s safety that the minor remain detained. (Section 709(h)(5)(C).) J. General Provisions 1. The provisions in this protocol are not intended to create rights or obligations beyond those imposed by applicable law. They are intended only to provide guidance and to support the goals of the juvenile justice system, which include the prompt resolution of competency issues. 2. Statements made to the appointed expert during the minor’s competency evaluation, statements made by the minor to mental health professionals during the remediation proceedings, and any fruits of those statements shall not be used in any other hearing against the minor in either juvenile or adult court.22 20 Mental health services are received voluntarily and cannot be ordered. 21 See, Section 709(h)(3). 22 See, Section 709(b)(5)
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF MERCED www.merced.courts.ca.gov 627 West 21st Street Merced CA 95340 STANDING ORDER #2022-08 EFFECTIVE November 15, 2022 Standing Order #2022-08 is a revision of Standing Order #2022-04 dated July 1, 2022 and shall replace said Standing Order. WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE § 709 PROCEDURES: JUVENILE COMPETENCY PROTOCOL Under the authority of Welfare and Insti
Reviewer note: Transcribed 2026-10-15 (California T4 Merced build 2026-10-15) by eye from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-merced/docs/general/standing-order-07072026.pdf (11638206 bytes, sha256 3a64db27e5391b6e9054feb5caef786433c02e5204366a95c135937e05e1630f; the compilation “ACTIVE STANDING ORDERS 2006 to Present”, linked as “All Current Standing Orders”; 70 pages - 36 covered by scanned page images (each with a machine reading laid with it - not a card's source), 34 born-digital (one font of the juvenile competency protocol's pages draws its characters shifted)); this order the compilation's pages 45 to 55, born-digital pages: read on the page images rendered at 200 dpi (vision/img/so-p45.png to so-p55.png), transcribed with the compilation's pages 45 to 55 and checked against a RapidOCR reading of the images (at 200 dpi) and the file's own text layer for the same pages, never published: of the transcription's 3809 words, 136 6-word windows were not found in a reading, in 18 spans - 15 spans split into consecutive pieces each found (a page break, a letterhead or signature block the readings interleave, or the readings' line order) and 3 spans read again on the page images and found as transcribed (vision/check-log.txt; evidence/vision-check-2026-10-15.log, evidence/vision-explain-2026-10-15.log). Not part of the text: the compilation's page stamps (“N of 70”) and, where printed, the court's seal, the letterhead's upper-right block, the signature, the running footers and the order's distribution list (cc:), never content (taken out by build/normalize_transcripts.py; the transcriber's file is kept in custody). The transcription's closing note, which describes the pages, is not published. Review note: The order's heading says “EFFECTIVE November 15, 2022” and its text “This Standing Order is effective July 1, 2022”; it revises Standing Order #2022-04 dated July 1, 2022. Item C.1.a of the protocol begins mid-sentence as printed (“serve as juvenile competency experts”), the words before it missing from the page - the review task asks the court for the item's full text. The protocol's attachments - forms MSC-JV-008 (Notice of Psychiatric Appointment: Juvenile) and MSC-JV-011 (Authorization to Exchange Confidential Information), the compilation's pages 56 to 60 - are forms, not transcribed.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.