Amanda Bynes DUI Moves To Mental Health Court; Lawyer Says She's 'Mentally Unfit' To Stand Trial

by UInterviewSeptember 25, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Amanda Bynes was absent for a scheduled court date regarding her April 2012 DUI arrest on Tuesday after her attorney argued that Bynes is mentally unfit to stand trial and the matter was transferred to the mental health court.

Bynes was first arrested in 2012 for driving under the influence and then began to demonstrate erratic behavior – tweeting insults about other young celebrities, getting an extreme makeover – until this past May when she was arrested for possession of marijuana, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence.

“The mental health court will examine Bynes and determine her competency to stand trial,” attorney Richard Hutton told E! News.

After her May arrest, Bynes was hospitalized by the police for psychiatric evaluation, but was released soon after. Though Bynes continued exhibiting strange behavior, she steered clear from the law until July 22 when she was arrested near her hometown, Thousand Oaks, Calif., for allegedly starting a fire in a person’s driveway. Bynes was taken into custody and put under a 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold under California’s 5150 California Welfare & Institutions Code.

The involuntary hold was later extended another 30-days in Aug. and Bynes’ mother, Lynne Bynes, was granted temporary conservatorship over her daughter and gained access to her daughter’s estate. Lynne Bynes reportedly sought the conservatorship so that she could make decisions regarding her daughter’s mental health and treatment options.

Mary Shea, Bynes’ attorney at the time, fought the conservatorship, but lost. However, it is temporary and the conservatorship will end on Sept. 30 pending a judge’s re-evaluation.

Lynne Bynes’ current attorney, Tamar Armanak, told reporters yesterday that Bynes is currently staying at UCLA Medical Center until the court hearing for permanent conservatorship begins on Sept. 30.

Bynes will also have to appear in court regarding her DUI Jan. 7.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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