Rule 1 General Provisions
Rule Text
(a) Authority. These policies and procedures are promulgated pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 of the NMI Constitution.
(b) Title and Citation. These policies and procedures shall be known as the NMI Judiciary Mental Health Court Docket Policies and Procedures and shall be cited as NMI MHC PP.
(c) Purpose. The purpose of MHC’s policies and procedures is to give a clear understanding, approach, and method for proper and timely MHC case flow and to ensure the adoption of best practices established by national organizations.
(d) Effective Date. These policies and procedures shall become effective upon their adoption by the NMI Supreme Court.
(e) Construction. These policies and procedures shall be construed to ensure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration, and elimination of unjustifiable expense and delay.
(f) Conflict. Nothing in these policies and procedures is meant to contravene established Commonwealth and federal laws or regulations, or other court rules, policies or procedures.
(g) Definition. Unless defined below, any word found within these policies and procedures shall retain its commonly understood meaning. The following terms are defined: NMI JUDICIARY MENTAL HEALTH COURT DOCKET cite as: NMI MHC PP
(1) Applicant means the person applying for entrance in MHC.
(2) Dangerous Offense means a person currently charged with or convicted of:
(i) murder or sexual felony;
(ii) any violent felony; or
(iii) arson.
(3) Mental Health Court Docket (“MHC”) means a non-adversarial specialty docket within the Superior Court that seeks the rehabilitation and treatment of the participant with underlying mental health issues through continuous court monitoring and holistic approaches based on best practice standards.
(4) Mental Health Court Docket Caseworker (“Caseworker”) means a staff member who refers the participant to specific treatment based on individual needs, the Treatment Provider’s ability to comply with the court’s reporting requirements, and the Treatment Provider’s capacity to provide appropriate care (e.g., mental or physical health, language, etc.).
(5) Mental Health Court Docket Hearing means:
(i) Change-of-Plea hearing is where the participant enters a guilty plea and the Judge holds the plea in abeyance;
(ii) Review hearing, which is conducted weekly or as mandated;
(iii) Order-to-Show-Cause hearing, which is held for the participant who wants to contest a violation; or
(iv) Termination hearing, which is held to determine whether the participant should be terminated from the program.
(6) Mental Health Court Docket Judge (“Judge”) means the Presiding Judge or Associate Judge of the CNMI Superior Court assigned to assigned to MHC.
(7) Mental Health Court Docket Manager (“Manager”) means the person who oversees the docket’s daily operations, including case flow, treatment planning, referrals to suitable Treatment Providers, and participants’ progress.
NMI JUDICIARY MENTAL HEALTH COURT DOCKET cite as: NMI MHC PP
(8) Mental Health Court Docket Officer (“Officer”) means a law enforcement officer of the NMI Judiciary.
(9) Mental Health Court Docket Team (“Team”) means a collaborative treatment team which includes the Judge, Manager, Caseworker, CNMI Judiciary Law Enforcement Officers, representatives from the Office of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender or defense attorney, Department of Public Safety, Department of Corrections, and Treatment Providers.
(10) Mental Health Court Docket Treatment Provider (“Treatment Provider”) means a public or private community-based treatment provider who works closely with the Team to coordinate and provide mental health treatment.
(11) Office of the Attorney General or Prosecutor means a CNMI Office of the Attorney General prosecutor assigned to MHC.
(12) Office of the Public Defender or Defense Attorney means the legal advocate for the participant.
(13) Participant means the offender who has been accepted in to the MHC.
(14) Staffing means a confidential Team meeting that discusses and reports on an applicant’s eligibility and suitability or the participant’s progress and compliance.