Insane Defendants Can Be Billed for Care

Defendants who are found insane can be required to pay for housing and treatment in a mental hospital, says a state appeals court.

In a ruling released Friday, the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld a law requiring a defendant who is acquitted by reason of insanity, and confined in a mental hospital, to pay for maintenance and care. The law does not require patients to pay costs of public protection that should be borne by society, and does not discriminate illegally against the insane, the court said in a 3-0 ruling.

The decision saves the state at least $3.9 million a year, money paid by more than 1,900 insane patients or their health plans, said Deputy Atty. Gen. John Porter. The case stemmed from an appeal by a Marin County woman who was found insane after killing her two sons in 1975, and was charged for her hospital care from her sons’ estates, which she was later ruled eligible to inherit.