The Washington County Rapid Fitness to Proceed Program is a collaborative team of professionals working to make the court fitness to proceed process as efficient as possible. The goal is to shorten the amount of time defendants are housed at the jail pending fitness to proceed determinations. The program is a collaboration of the following Washington County stakeholders: The Sheriff’s Office, the defense bar, Mental Health Services, the Circuit Court, and the DA’s Office.
Referral Process & Selection Priority
Priority will be given to defendants charged with non-violent crimes, defendants charged with misdemeanors, and defendants who have been in custody for the longest period of time. All involved team members must support referral for it to be accepted
To participate in this program, potential participants may fill out and submit the Rapid Fitness to Proceed Referral Formby emailing Joel Petersen [email protected].
Download Program Flyer:
Goals & Methods
Goals
- Speed up the fitness to proceed process
- Speed up resolution of criminal cases
- Decrease the amount of time defendants spend in custody while waiting for an evaluation
Methods
- Privatize evaluations with evaluators trusted by defense and state
- Certified forensic evaluators trusted by the defense and the state; defense-privileged evaluations disclosed only if defense intends to use evaluation in court; rapid turnaround time from date of referral to written evaluation
Median Timelines
- Court-ordered .365 evaluation timeline from date of order: 62 days
- Rapid evaluation timeline from date of referral: 16 days
Evaluators
NW Forensic Institute
Dr. Michelle Guyton
Dr. Alex Millkey
Dr. Lynette Hamilton
Dr. Amala Shetty
Dr. Jennifer Johnson
Dr. Danielle Therson
Dr. Ashley Estoup
Lithia Forensics
Dr. Lauren Best
Dr. Drew Orf
Dr. Kimberly Rideout
Year 2023 by the Numbers
We are pleased to report that this program continues to be successful.
In 2023, there were 100 successful rapid fitness determinations. The median time to those determinations was just 17 days, down from 91 days under the state’s system.
On average, this increased efficiency helped save 74 days of jail time served per defendant, leading to a total approximate savings of more than $1,932,214.00 to the taxpayer.
We’d like to thank all our partners who helped make this possible.
Washington County Rapid Fitness to Proceed Program (Rapid FtP) Metrics
January 1st – December 31st, 2023
100 Succesful Fitness Determinations [1]
| Regular .365 Order Timeline | Rapid Fitness to Proceed Timeline |
|---|---|
| Median time to determination: 91 days [3] | Median time to determination: 17 days [2] |
| Longest time to determination: 210 days | Longest time to determination: 86 days |
| Shortest time to determination: 14 days | Shortest time to determination: 2 days |
- Rapid FtP program jail savings on median timeline: 74 days of jail saved per defendant.
- Jail costs: $261.11/day [4]
- 74 days x $261.11 /day = $19,322.14 in jail costs saved.
- 100 defendants x 74 days at a cost of $261.11 = $1,932,214.00 in jail costs saved.
[1] A successful fitness to proceed determination means that the evaluator was able to reach an opinion on the defendant’s fitness to proceed.
[2] Calendar days calculated from date records release order was submitted until the court made a determination of fitness or defense withdrew motion to determine fitness.
[3] Calendar days calculated from date .365 order was submitted until the court made a determination of fitness or defense withdrew motion to determine fitness.
[4] Figure obtained from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
Contact(s)
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Joel Petersen
|
Deputy District Attorney
|