The Supreme Court concludes that a juvenile court has the authority pursuant to C.R.S. §19-2.5-706(2) to order a reassessment evaluation after determining that a juvenile remains incompetent during a review pursuant to §19-2.5-704(2) or following a restoration hearing pursuant to §19-2.5-705, if the delinquency petition is not dismissed. The court clarifies that a “reassessment evaluation” is distinct from the second competency evaluation at issue in (and prohibited by) B.B.A.M, 453 P.3d 1161 (Colo. 2019).
The juvenile magistrate found A.C. incompetent to proceed and ordered CDHS to provide restoration services. After A.C.’s participation in many months of restoration services, the magistrate held a restoration hearing; at the end of the hearing, the magistrate stated that they needed more information to make a determination about whether A.C. had been restored to competency, and ordered a competency “reassessment”. The Supreme Court reads this to be a determination that the juvenile is still incompetent, and finds that the magistrate had the authority to order this reassessment.