What Is PC 1370? California Competency Commitment and Restoration

California Penal Code 1370 is the statute that controls what happens after a felony defendant is found mentally incompetent to stand trial. It freezes the criminal case, sends the defendant into treatment aimed at restoring competency, caps how long that commitment can last, and sets out what the court must do if the person never becomes competent. The core idea is simple: no one stands trial while they lack the mental ability to understand the proceedings and help their lawyer, but the state also cannot hold someone indefinitely in the name of getting them ready.

What Triggers a PC 1370 Commitment

PC 1370 only kicks in after the court has already found the defendant incompetent. That finding comes out of a separate process under Penal Code 1368 and 1369, where a judge who doubts the defendant’s competence orders a psychiatric or psychological evaluation and holds a hearing if either side contests the report. The defendant is presumed competent, and the party claiming incompetence must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence.¹

At that same hearing, the court also decides whether the defendant has the capacity to consent to or refuse antipsychotic medication. That finding matters later, because it shapes how easily the treating facility can medicate the defendant during the PC 1370 commitment.¹

The Criminal Case Freezes

Once the court finds the defendant incompetent, the trial and every step toward a judgment stop. If a jury has already been seated, those jurors are discharged. No plea, conviction, or sentencing can happen while the defendant remains incompetent, and speedy trial clocks toll during the suspension.² The case stays frozen until the defendant is certified as competent again or the court takes one of the exits described below.³

Where the Defendant Goes

The court decides placement, but not on its own. The community program director, or a designee, has 15 judicial days to evaluate the defendant and submit a written recommendation. No one is admitted to a facility or placed on outpatient status without that evaluation.⁴

The main placement options are:

A Department of State Hospitals facility, typically used when the defendant poses a safety risk or has a more severe psychiatric condition.
Another public or private treatment facility, which can include county jail-based treatment programs and community-based residential programs with a secured or locked setting.
Outpatient status under Section 1600, generally the least restrictive option. Defendants charged with violent felonies can only go to outpatient status if the court specifically finds the placement will not endanger anyone.

Danger to others is the pivot point when the court chooses between a locked facility and something less restrictive. For defendants charged with serious sex offenses, the statute pushes toward state hospital placement and requires special findings before any alternative is considered.⁴

Treatment itself usually combines psychiatric medication with education about the courtroom, pleas, and how to work with defense counsel. The goal is not to cure the underlying condition. It is to get the defendant functional enough to participate in their own defense.

Beds are scarce. As of late 2021, more than 1,700 defendants were on the waitlist for competency restoration treatment in California, and defendants often sit in county jail for months waiting for a spot. The state funds 60-day reevaluations for people still waiting, to check whether they have stabilized enough in jail to be considered for diversion or outpatient placement instead.⁵

How Long the Commitment Can Last

The commitment is not open-ended. A defendant cannot be held longer than two years or the maximum prison sentence for the charged offense, whichever is shorter. If the charge carries a maximum of 18 months, the commitment caps at 18 months even though the general limit is two years.²

Progress is monitored on a set schedule. The first written report from the treating facility is due within 90 days of commitment, and reports continue every six months for as long as the defendant remains committed. Each report addresses whether the defendant is moving toward competency and whether continued treatment is likely to work. No later than 90 days before the maximum commitment expires, the facility must return the defendant to the committing court if competency has not been restored.⁶

Misdemeanor cases run on a different track. They are handled under Penal Code 1370.01, cannot result in a state hospital commitment, and generally carry shorter limits tied to the misdemeanor’s maximum sentence.⁶

Involuntary Antipsychotic Medication

If a defendant refuses medication that clinicians believe would restore competency, the state cannot simply force the issue. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sell v. United States set a four-part test the court must satisfy before ordering involuntary antipsychotic medication:⁷

The charges are serious enough that the government has an important interest in bringing the case to trial.
The medication is substantially likely to restore competency and substantially unlikely to produce side effects that would undermine the defendant’s ability to assist the defense.
Less intrusive treatments are unlikely to achieve the same result.
The medication is medically appropriate given the defendant’s overall condition.

If the court already found at the PC 1369 hearing that the defendant lacks capacity to make medication decisions, the path to involuntary medication is more straightforward. The treating facility can also request a new finding during the commitment, and the court revisits the issue through the PC 1370 reporting process.⁴

Credit for Time Spent in Treatment

Time spent in a treatment facility, including outpatient treatment, counts against any eventual sentence if the defendant is later convicted. Penal Code 1375.5 makes this explicit. That credit matters, because some defendants spend months or years in the restoration process before the criminal case resumes.⁸

When Competency Is Restored

When the treating facility’s medical director concludes the defendant has regained competency, they file a certificate of restoration with the court by certified mail or secure electronic transmission. The original commitment order already directs the sheriff to retrieve the defendant from the facility once that certificate arrives, so no separate court order is needed.⁹

The defendant is returned to the county where the charges are pending, and the court holds a hearing to confirm restoration. If the judge agrees, the criminal case picks up exactly where it left off. Pending motions, trial preparation, and plea negotiations all resume from the point of suspension.³ Any existing involuntary medication order is reviewed at this stage. If the basis for it is gone, the court vacates the order; if a new basis exists, the court can issue a fresh order after a hearing.⁴

When Competency Cannot Be Restored

If the maximum commitment runs out and the defendant is still not competent, the court has to close the criminal case and decide what happens next. The route depends on how serious the original charges were.

Dismissal

For less serious offenses, charges are typically dismissed. Dismissal may be without prejudice, which leaves the prosecution the option to refile within the statute of limitations if the defendant later becomes competent. Refiling is uncommon in practice, but legally possible.

Murphy Conservatorship

For defendants originally charged with felonies involving death, great bodily harm, or a serious threat to someone’s physical safety, California uses a civil commitment called a Murphy conservatorship. The court must find probable cause that the defendant committed the charged felony, and the felony must involve the serious violence or threat described in the statute. The conservatorship is renewable annually and allows continued placement in a state hospital on a penal code unit. The original criminal charges are not dismissed while the conservatorship is in place.¹⁰¹¹

Mental Health Diversion as an Alternative

PC 1370 is not the only path once competency is in doubt. If the court determines that restoring competency through commitment is not in the interests of justice, it can consider pretrial mental health diversion under Penal Code 1001.36.²

Diversion requires a qualifying diagnosed mental disorder, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or PTSD, that was a significant factor in the offense. Antisocial personality disorder and pedophilia are specifically excluded. A mental health expert must opine that treatment would address the behavior that led to the charge. A defendant already found incompetent does not need to personally consent to diversion or waive their speedy trial right, because the statute recognizes that incompetence may prevent them from doing so. Diversion can last up to two years or the maximum PC 1370 commitment period, whichever is shorter, and successful completion results in dismissal of the criminal charges.¹²

For defendants whose conditions are unlikely to improve enough for a traditional trial but who respond well to consistent community-based treatment, diversion is often a better outcome than cycling through restoration.

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1369 – Determination of Mental Competence
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1370 – Inquiry Into the Competence of the Defendant Before Trial or After Conviction
3
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 4.130 Mental Competency Proceedings
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1370
5
California Health and Human Services Agency. Incompetent to Stand Trial Solutions Workgroup Report
6
California Department of State Hospitals. DSH IST 1370 Process
7
Justia. Sell v. United States, 539 U.S. 166
8
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1375.5 – Credit for Time in Treatment Facility
9
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1372 – Restoration to Competence
10
California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5008 – Definitions
11
California Department of State Hospitals. Legal Commitments
12
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1001.36 – Pretrial Mental Health Diversion