Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Staff Writer
The winding road to finalization of a federal consent decree concerning Oklahoma’s treatment of jail inmates judged incompetent to stand trial has taken another twist.
A final hearing on the consent decree is scheduled for Wednesday in a Tulsa federal courtroom, but earlier this week Gov. Kevin Stitt’s legal counsel told the involved parties that he believes the agreement must be approved by the Legislature instead of by the three-member Contingency Review Board.
The review board is empowered to act only while the Legislature is not in session. In a letter dated Jan. 8, Ben Lepak said he concluded that the Legislature is in session because it met Tuesday for an organizational day.
Lepak cited the state constitution and a 2001 attorney general’s opinion that held that the organizational day, and not the first day of regular business on the first Monday of February, begins the legislative session.
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“Because any consent decree … must be approved by ‘the Oklahoma State Legislature when it is in regular session,’ the Legislature — not the Contingency Review Board — now has the authority to approve consent decrees.”
Lepak notes that the first day that can happen is Feb. 3.
What that means for the Jan. 15 hearing was not immediately clear, but given the case’s development to date, a delay seems likely.
The suit, Briggs v. Oklahoma, is a class action alleging that the state has routinely violated prisoners’ rights by failing to provide timely treatment to those found incompetent for trial. The consent agreement sets out a timeline for the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health to reach the capacity to provide such services within 21 days.
The consent decree has at times pitted Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who said he ultimately concluded that the state could not successfully defend its position, against Stitt and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Allie Friesen.
Late last year, the parties all agreed to final language for the consent decree. Because of the expected cost to the state, however, the decree had to be approved by either the Legislature or the Contingency Review Board. The board is chaired by the governor and includes the House speaker and the Senate president pro tem as voting members.
Legislative approval requires passage by the House and Senate of a concurrent resolution, which would not require the governor’s signature.
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