Superior court judges in Arizona do not have absolute authority to order the forced medication of criminal defendants in hopes of making them competent to stand trial, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year.
The Feb. 27 appellate court opinion addresses an order issued by a judge with the Yavapai County Superior Court last summer that permitted the involuntary medication of Martin Wolf, who had been ruled incompetent to assist in his defense or understand the aggravated harassment charges against him.
“We agree without hesitation that the state has real and meaningful interest in protecting the victims and securing a conviction,” the appellate opinion states. “Wolf may well be a candidate for civil commitment and if committed may be involuntarily medicated. But he may not be medicated against his will in the context of this criminal prosecution.”
Wolf, 63, was charged with four low-level felonies for making harassing but non-violent communications in violation of a court order. The offenses occurred in 2018 and 2019. He was facing a prison term of up to four years if convicted of all four charges, although he was eligible for probation at the discretion of the judge.
In June 2019, Judge Christopher Kottke determined Wolf was incompetent to stand trial. But instead of dismissing the charges, the judge ordered Wolf to participate in a court-approved restoration to competency (RTC) program that can last up to 15 months.
Such programs usually require a defendant to be treated on an in-patient or in-custody basis and can cost up to $20,000 per month depending on the facility. Many RTC participants don’t require medication as part of their treatment, but some -like Wolf- do.
Wolf, however, refused to be medicated. Kottke was then asked to issue an order authorizing the RTC doctors to forcibly medicate Wolf.
At a hearing on the matter, the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office acknowledged that Wolf’s alleged offenses “aren’t crimes of the century in terms of sentencing” but pointed out the charges involved an escalating pattern of conduct in a domestic matter. Wolf countered that he had already been held in custody for almost eight months pending trial on the non-dangerous charges.
In the end, Kottke determined there was “an important government interest” in having Wolf stand trial on the aggravated harassment charges. By November 2019, Wolf had been deemed restored to competency and accepted a plea deal which called for him to plead guilty to three counts.
At sentencing, Wolf was ordered to serve 317 days in jail and then five years of supervised probation. By that time he had already spent 317 days in custody, so Wolf immediately went onto probation.
The Yavapai County Public Defender’s Office challenged the RTC involuntary medication order, citing Wolf’s constitutional rights. On Feb. 27, the Arizona Court of Appeals informed Yavapai County court officials that the forced medication order should not have been issued.
A short time later Wolf’s probation was formally terminated for all three charges. However, the formal written opinion didn’t take affect April 3 when the deadline expired for the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office to petition the Arizona Supreme Court for review of the decision.
According to the court of appeals, “involuntary antipsychotic medication represents a substantial interference with a person’s liberty” which can only be permitted if an important government interest exists, the alleged crime is “sufficiently serious,” and then “under only the most compelling circumstances.”
“The superior court properly considered that Wolf allegedly engaged in a prolonged, escalating pattern of harassment against a former spouse and her partner in disregard of a court order,” the appellate opinion states. “But even considering those allegations, we must conclude as a matter of law that Wolf is not charged with ‘serious crimes.’”