Chapter 2: Diversion TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 4 II. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ....................................................................................................... 5 A. DIVERSION—ITS SCOPE AND DEFINITION .............................................................................................. 5 B. THE ACTUAL EXTENT OF DIVERSION—ITS NON-EXCEPTIONAL NATURE ....................................................... 6 C. PUBLIC POLICY OBJECTIVES OF DIVERSION ............................................................................................. 9 1. Benefits for Offenders, Victims and Society .............................................................................. 9 2. Diversion is Efficient ................................................................................................................ 12 3. The Need for Policy Guidelines on Diversion ........................................................................... 12 III. DIVERSION OF MENTALLY DISABLED CLIENT TO THE CIVIL COMMITMENT PROCESS ................ 13 A. CIVIL COMMITMENT ........................................................................................................................ 13 1. Voluntary Patients .................................................................................................................. 13 2. Involuntary Patients ................................................................................................................ 14 B. ADULT GUARDIANSHIP AND TRUSTEESHIP ACT ..................................................................................... 18 C. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF DIVERSION FROM THE CRIMINAL PROCESS INTO THE CIVIL STREAM .... 20 1. Advantages of Diversion to the Civil Commitment Stream ..................................................... 20 2. Disadvantages of Diversion to the Civil Commitment Stream ................................................ 22 D. CONSEQUENCES OF A CRIMINAL CONVICTION ...................................................................................... 24 1. Legal Effects ............................................................................................................................ 24 a. Criminal Record .................................................................................................................................................... 24 b. Deportation .......................................................................................................................................................... 24 c. Jury Duty ............................................................................................................................................................... 25 d. Record Suspension (formerly Pardon) ................................................................................................................. 25 2. Social and Practical Effects of a Conviction ............................................................................ 25 a. Treatment of Mentally Disabled Offender in Prison ............................................................................................ 25 b. Refusal of Treatment and Housing ....................................................................................................................... 26 c. Employment ........................................................................................................................................................ 26 d. Other Difficulties .................................................................................................................................................. 27 IV. EXERCISE OF DISCRETION BY POLICE OFFICERS ........................................................................ 27 A. GENERAL FACTORS AFFECTING DISCRETION OF POLICE OFFICERS ............................................................. 27 B. POLICE DISCRETION AND MENTALLY DISABLED OFFENDERS .................................................................... 31 1. Involuntary Commitment ........................................................................................................ 32 2. Arrest ...................................................................................................................................... 34 3. Other Alternatives .................................................................................................................. 36 4. The American Bar Association's Diversion Policies ................................................................. 37 C. IMPLICATIONS FOR ADVOCATES AND REPRESENTATIVES OF MENTALLY DISABLED OFFENDERS ....................... 39 V. DIVERSION PROGRAMS IN CANADA ........................................................................................ 41 A. GENERAL ....................................................................................................................................... 41 B. ALTERNATIVE MEASURES (FORMAL DIVERSION) ................................................................................... 43 C. MENTAL DISORDER AND DIVERSION ................................................................................................... 44 D. SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH COURTS ............................................................................................... 47 Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre Ch 2 Current to August 2016 Page 2-1 REPRESENTING MENTALLY DISABLED PERSONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM VI. DIVERSION AND THE CROWN PROSECUTOR ........................................................................... 49 A. GENERAL FACTORS AFFECTING DIVERSION BY PROSECUTORS .................................................................. 49 1. Procedure ................................................................................................................................ 49 2. Ethical Duties and Other Factors That Influence the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion ..... 51 a. Duties of Prosecutor ............................................................................................................................................. 51 b. Administrative Demands ...................................................................................................................................... 52 3. Discretionary Powers of Prosecutors ...................................................................................... 53 4. Challenging the Prosecutor's Exercise of Discretion ............................................................... 59 B. PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION AND MENTALLY DISABLED OFFENDERS ........................................................ 64 1. General ................................................................................................................................... 64 2. Challenging the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion on Behalf of a Mentally Disabled Client 65 VII. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 70 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................................... 72 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................... 79 Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre Page 2-2 REPRESENTING MENTALLY DISABLED PERSONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 1 Criminal Justice Process in Alberta (note the various discretion or diversion points): 1 This flow chart is sourced from Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, “Criminal Justice Process for Adults”, online: Alberta Justice and Solicitor General <https://justice.alberta.ca/programs_services/criminal_pros/Pages/process_adults.aspx>. Note that “[t]his chart flows from top to bottom unless indicated otherwise by arrows.” Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre Page 2-3 REPRESENTING MENTALLY DISABLED PERSONS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM I. Introduction Mentally disabled offenders may be diverted from the traditional criminal justice system into community programs, mental health facilities and other programs at several stages of the proceedings. A victim may decide not to report the alleged crime to the police. A police dispatcher may elect to give a complaint a low priority. A police officer may choose to examine other options such as civil commitment or placing the mentally disabled person into the custody of friends or family. The prosecutor may decide not to proceed against the offender or may enter into a plea bargain with him/her. Alternative Measures may be used to avoid the mentally disabled offender having a criminal record. The courts may impose a conditional sentence such as house arrest or time spent in a locked psychiatric facility with access to treatment, instead of time spent in a penal institution. In some jurisdictions, there are specialized mental health courts, which will streamline qualified mentally ill offenders through the court system and match them with appropriate resources. Some of these diversion options may be preferable to mitigate the adverse effects of the (sometimes protracted) criminal justice process on mentally disabled persons. This chapter examines several aspects of the diversion process. First, it considers the factors that influence the choice to divert a mentally disabled person from