Opinion Number

Dear Mr. Adams:

Your request for an Attorney General's Opinion has been forwarded to me for research and reply. In particular, you asked the following question:

Are Lockhart commitments subject to the six-month limit on judicial commitments provided by Act 985 of 1997?

In Lockhart v. T.N. Armistead, 351 So.2d 496 (La. 1977), the Louisiana Supreme Court held that a person unable to stand trial for an unforeseeable amount of time due to a permanent mental defect cannot be held continually on sole account of that mental defect. The court used the reasoning in Jackson v.Indiana, 406 U.S. 715 (1972),…