Drummond commends Senate for approval of Briggs class-action lawsuit settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY (March 4, 2025) – Long-delayed justice will be delivered for crime victims, thanks to the state Senate’s approval of a class-action lawsuit settlement, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced today.

The Senate adopted by unanimous consent House Concurrent Resolution 1004, which finalizes a brokered agreement between Drummond and the plaintiffs’ attorneys. It will save the state untold millions of dollars and deliver critical improvements for state mental health services provided through the criminal justice system.

The lawsuit, Briggs v. Friesen, was filed nearly two years ago alleging the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) violated the due process rights of some pretrial defendants by failing to provide timely court-ordered competency restoration services. Some defendants deemed incompetent for trial avoided accountability for more than a year in county jails.

“The passage of this resolution is a major victory for Oklahoma,” Drummond said. “I appreciate Senate President Pro Tempore Paxton’s and House Speaker Hilbert’s leadership in authoring HCR 1004, and I am grateful we can move forward on improving the state’s restoration services and administering long-overdue justice.”

The consent decree details a strategic plan for justice to be administered in a timely fashion by improving ODMHSAS restoration services. Under the plan, the agency will work with experts as well as community leadership to improve competency restoration services through:

• increasing training of forensic healthcare professionals,
• reducing the number of individuals inaccurately declared incompetent,
• lowering the wait times to constitutionally appropriate levels of competency restoration treatment,
• creating an appropriate and effective in-jail restoration treatment program, and
• expanding the State’s resources, including additional in-patient competency restoration beds.