About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 Competency to Stand Trial 1985

handle is hein.beal/ctst0001 and id is 1 raw text is: -tment of Justice stitute of Justice velopment, Testing and Dissemination Competency to Stand Trial The Problem Although there is considerable case law distinguishing the legal con- cept of insanity from that of incompetency to stand trial, there is evidence that the two concepts are often confused by attorneys, judges, and mental health professionals. As a result, many defen- dants whose competency could be determined without recourse to costly hospitalization are unnecessarily committed to medical facilities for competency evaluations. When this occurs: the cost of prosecution is increased; and prosecution is delayed longer than necessary. Experience in several states has shown that the competency evalua- tion process can be strengthened and streamlined. Contents of This Brief This Brief discusses several issues related to referrals of criminal defendants to mental health professionals for competency deter- minations. Specifically: * Section I provides a brief background on the issues pertaining to competency evaluations. * Section II presents key features of the governing statute and court rules, a two-step screening and evaluation process, and a method. for referring defendants to the mental health system. * Section III discusses the benefits to be derived from a revised com- petency evaluation system, and Section IV suggests how to begin the revision process. * Section V contains a sample statute and court rules and sources of further information.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most