Oregon's Juvenile Psychiatric Security Review Board

In 2005, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill modifying the existing Psychiatric Security Review Board (PRSB) statute, creating a juvenile panel for management of juvenile insanity acquittees. Dubbed the Juvenile PSRB (JPSRB), it borrows heavily from the 30 years of experience of its adult predecessor. Statutory language was also modified to create a plea of "responsible except for insanity" for juveniles in Oregon. The authors discuss the similarities of the JPSRB to the adult PSRB system and highlight the differences that take into account the unique needs of juvenile defendants. They go on to discuss potential problems foreseen with implementation of the JPSRB system and to recommend possible solutions.