Mental Competency to Stand Trial
Mental incompetency means insanity. The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment prohibits the prosecution of an incompetent person. The legal standard or test for incompetency is generally whether the defendant cannot understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him.
The first stage in determining competency is for the judge to consider certain factors that seem to indicate the necessity of a psychiatric evaluation. The judge has the discretion to consider all facts and circumstances she believes are relevant.
Such factors of mental competency may include: ability to understand and participate in the proceedings against her, whether she can consult with a lawyer with both a rational as well as a factual understanding of the charges, whether she can assist the lawyer in her defense, whether she can understand the adjudicatory process, whether she can distinguish between more and less relevant factual information, whether she can distinguish between pleading guilty and not guilty, and whether she can appreciate her legal situation and circumstances.
The judge may also consider demonstrated irrational behavior, demeanor in court, a history of mental illness, incarceration for mental disturbance, and documented proof of mental disturbance. However, a defendant is not incompetent when she is actually sane but for the use of psychotropic drugs.
When the judge has reason to believe that the defendant may be incompetent, a psychiatric evaluation will be ordered. If the psychiatrist makes a diagnosis of medical incapacitation, the judge then pronounces her final decision on the issue. Legal incompetence is a higher standard than medical incompetence (as in mild cognitive disability). A legally incompetent person is not able to understand what she is doing in court, and may not even be aware of her own pitiful state.
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Last Modified: 04-14-2009 04:39 PM PDT
