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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE <br />NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN <br />AND FOR INDIAN RIVER, MARTIN, <br />OKEECHOBEE, AND ST. LUCIE <br />COUNTIES, STATE OF FLORIDA <br />ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2014 - <br />IN RE: MENTAL HEALTH COURT PROGRAM <br />WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature through Chapter 394 has encouraged the <br />creation of mental health courts to align policy initiatives in the criminal justice and <br />mental health systems to ensure the most effective resources and to coordinate the <br />shared needs of adults who have a mental illness and who are in or at risk of entering <br />the criminal justice system; and <br />WHEREAS, specialized courts have enhanced the expediency, effectiveness, <br />and quality of judicial administration; and <br />WHEREAS, since courts and jails have not historically been able to adequately <br />address the treatment needs of the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, a <br />centralized mental health court program would be beneficial to the administration of <br />justice, increase the efficiency of the criminal justice system, best protect public safety, <br />reduce recidivism and help those mentally ill or intellectually disabled persons build <br />successful lives; and <br />WHEREAS, through cooperation and assistance of the counties, state attorney <br />and public defender, a mental health court program has successfully operated in St. <br />Lucie County since June 6, 2006 and in Martin County since October 31, 2007; and <br />WHEREAS, a mental health court program would be beneficial in the other <br />counties; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to the authority vested in me as Chief Judge of <br />the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida under Rule 2.215, Rules of Judicial <br />Administration, it is hereby ORDERED as follows: <br />1. A Mental Health Court shall be operational as a subdivision within the Criminal <br />Divisions of the Circuit and County Courts of each county in which a judge is assigned <br />to Mental Health Court in the annual judicial assignments order. The same judge shall <br />be assigned to handle the cases arising from the criminal divisions of both circuit and <br />county courts unless otherwise specified in the annual judicial assignments order. <br />2. ELIGIBILITY <br />A. Defendants Adjudicated Incompetent to Proceed or Not Guilty by <br />Reason of Mental Disability <br />Any defendant who is adjudicated incompetent to proceed or not guilty by reason <br />of insanity and who has been placed on conditional release shall be transferred to <br />1 <br />6 <br />