⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit hears Disability Rights Oregon v. Hathi. Oregon courts find criminal defendants unable to understand proceedings or help with their defense. They may wait in jail for transfer to Oregon State Hospital for competency-restoration treatment. A 2002 federal injunction requires the hospital to admit them within seven days. In January 2025, the average wait was 29 days. Disability Rights Oregon sought civil contempt, which lets a court use sanctions to compel compliance with its order. After a March hearing, the district judge found the state health officials in contempt and imposed a daily 500-dollar sanction for each person waiting beyond seven days. The central issue is procedural: the judge received the court-appointed neutral expert's eleventh report after the hearing and relied on it in the June decision. The officials say they had no fair chance to rebut new information; the appellees say the report repeated familiar data and the hearing record independently supports contempt. The officials also challenge the order's clarity and the fines' justification.

Disability Rights Oregon, et al. v. Hathi, et al. (No. 25-3868) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued September 17, 2026.