AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge ordered the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to transfer jail detainees found incompetent to stand trial to state mental health facilities within 21 days, ruling that longer delays violate their constitutional rights.
U.S. District Judge David Ezra issued the injunction in a class-action lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Texas on behalf of criminal defendants who remained in jail for more than 21 days after courts found them incompetent to stand trial. Ezra gave the commission four years to fully comply with the order.
Ezra ruled that detainees must receive competency restoration treatment in psychiatric facilities before criminal proceedings can continue. He wrote that wait times exceeding 21 days violate due process because they no longer bear a reasonable relationship to the purpose of confinement.
Disability Rights Texas filed the lawsuit in 2016, alleging the state failed to provide timely access to competency restoration services for detainees awaiting transfer to state hospitals.
The plaintiffs argued that prolonged delays extend incarceration, harm criminal cases, worsen mental and physical health conditions, and, in some cases, result in detainees serving the maximum possible sentence before receiving treatment or standing trial.
Court records showed that, as of August 2025, detainees assigned to maximum-security units waited an average of 202 days for transfer, while other detainees waited an average of 178 days.
The commission maintains a first-come, first-served waiting list for competency restoration because of limited capacity in state hospitals.
The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office separately sued HHSC over the delays, arguing that housing detainees awaiting transfer costs counties millions of dollars. The Texas Supreme Court declined in June to review a lower court ruling that counties must continue housing the detainees because state law does not require HHSC to transfer them within a specific timeframe.
HHSC has expanded jail-based competency restoration programs, diversion initiatives and hospital capacity with legislative funding. However, Ezra ruled those efforts have not significantly reduced wait times. State health officials previously told lawmakers they do not expect to have enough hospital beds to meet demand by the end of next year.
During the trial, attorneys representing Gov. Greg Abbott argued that the case should be dismissed under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Ezra rejected that argument, ruling that the lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of prolonged confinement without competency restoration rather than individual jail conditions.
Ezra directed both parties to develop implementation benchmarks and a monitoring plan to ensure HHSC complies with the 21-day transfer requirement.
