United States v. Neal

BYE, Circuit Judge.

While Fred Neal, Jr., was on pretrial release awaiting trial, the government petitioned the district court to have him committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for an inpatient competency evaluation. In response, Neal’s counsel conceded reasonable cause existed to question her client’s competency, but contended the government had not provided sufficient reasons to justify detaining Neal for an inpatient commitment, and asked the court to order an outpatient evaluation. Without conducting a hearing or making any factual findings, the district court granted the…