Texas Commission on Jail Standards Issues Memorandum Regarding Prisoners with Mental Health Issues

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards, who is charged with inspecting and regulating Texas county jails, issued a technical assistance memorandum on December 6, 2018 regarding magistrate notification. The memorandum indicates that, when a jail notifies a magistrate that a person confined for a Class B misdemeanor or higher has a mental illness, or an intellectual disability, the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure requires the jail to include with the notice additional information. That information could include the incarcerated person’s behavior immediately before, during, and after the person was arrested, as well as the results of any previous assessment of the prisoner.

The memorandum also notes that providing such information to a magistrate does not violate HIPPA. Therefore, effective immediately, all Texas county jails are required to provide such necessary documentation to magistrates to comply with Article 16.22 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. If a jail fails to do so, it may receive a notice of non-compliance from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.