Competency to stand trial evaluations can be ordered by the defense, the prosecution, or the courts.
The party ordering evaluation should expect the evaluator to address the pertinent issues in accordance with: Dusky v. U.S., 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct.788 (1960); Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 95 S.Ct. 896 (1975); and Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 113 S.Ct. 2680 (1993)., and the statutory requirements in a given jurisdiction.
Competencies to waive constitutional rights, i.e. competency to plead guilty or competency to waive the right to counsel are not offered as separate evaluations, but are addressed in the context of competency to stand trial report.
The reports will not contain any exculpatory or inculpatory statements by the defendant.
The reports address the following areas in sufficient detail:
1. Source of referral
2. Date and Place of the Evaluation, and time spent for the preparation of the
report.
3. Statement of non-confidentiality.
4. List of reference materials and of interviews utilized in the preparation of
the report.
5. Case law or statutory requirements to meet the criteria for competency to
stand trial in a given jurisdiction.
6. Pertinent background information of the defendant.
7. Pertinent psychiatric, medical and substance abuse history.
8. Thorough Mental Status Exam and current level of functioning.
9. Evaluation of the defendant’s ability to understand the proceedings against
him.
Statements of the defendant that demonstrate the extent of his understanding of
relevant issues are provided in quotations. This part of the report would
provide answers as to whether the defendant has the ability to:
* understand his present charges,
*understand his overall legal situation,
*understand the roles of courtroom personnel
*distinguish between various pleas
*understand the range of possible verdicts
10. Assessment of the defendants ability to assist in his defense. This part of
the evaluation should reflect on defendants ability to:
*recount his behavior and whereabouts at the time of the alleged offense (*as
stated above, no exculpatory or inculpatory statements are included in the
report)
*effectively interact with his attorney
*behave in acceptable manner in the court room
11. Whether or not, and to what extent the defendant’s mental disorder (if
any) has affected his competency to stand trial. (The absence of mental disorder
usually precludes further evaluation)
In cases when the defendant is assessed by the evaluator as incompetent to
stand trial the issues of malingering (feigning the signs and symptoms of mental
disorder) and potential for restoration to
competency will be discussed.
The party making the referral is responsible for providing the necessary collateral information for the preparation of the report.
*The evaluator retains the right to refuse to become involved in a case for undisclosed reasons.
© 1999 - 2007 Mark I. Levy, MD, DFAPA
Insanity Defense, Criminal Responsibility (courtesy of Pogos H. Voskanian, M.D, http://www.forensic-psychiatrist.com/)Can be requested by the defense, the prosecution or the courts.
The party making the request should expect the report to address the following
areas:
1. Source of referral
2. Date and Place of the Evaluation, and time spent for the preparation of the
report.
3. Statement of non-confidentiality.
4. List of reference materials and of interviews utilized in the preparation of
the report.
5. Case law or statutory requirements to meet the criteria for an insanity
defense in a given jurisdiction.
6. Detailed background information of the defendant.
7. Past psychiatric history
8. Medical history
9. Substance abuse history.
10. Description of the offense in question by the defendant and by the
collateral sources.
11. Review of collateral information reconstructing the mental state of the
defendant at the time of the offense, and the time proximate to the offense.
These usually include police reports, witness accounts, notes and discharge
summaries from recent hospitalizations, accounts of communications of the
defendant with others, etc.
12. Diagnostic Impression. (The absence of mental disorder usually precludes
further evaluation).
13. Detailed account as to how the given diagnosis was reached.
14. Description of the correlation between the defendants behavior at the time
of the offense with the symptoms of his/her mental illness. (In the case of
multiple legal charges,
each offense will be addressed separately)
15. Correlation of the defendant’s mental state and behavior with statutory
requirements for the insanity defense in a given jurisdiction.
16. Issue of malingering. (The reasons as to why the evaluator does or does not
believe that the defendant is not fabricating the symptoms of mental illness as
it relates to the offense in question).
The party making the referral is responsible for the provision of the necessary collateral information for the preparation of the report.
*The evaluator retains the right to refuse to become involved in a case for undisclosed reasons.
© 1999 - 2007 Mark I. Levy, MD, DFAPA
CAPITAL SENTENCING, CAPITAL MITIGATION... (courtesy of Pogos H. Voskanian, M.D, http://www.forensic-psychiatrist.com/)These evaluations are usually requested by the defense, and occasionally
by the prosecution for a "rebuttal", or to assure the objectivity of
the defense witness.
The reports reflect local case law or statutory requirements and are performed
in accordance to the decisions in Coker v. GA, 428 U.S. 280 (1976); Locket v.
OH, 487 U.S. 586 (1978); Edmund v. FL, 458 U.S. 782 (1982); Ake v. OK, 470 U.S.
68, S.Ct. 1087 (1985); Thompson v. OK, 487 U.S. 815 (1988); Perry v. Lynaugh,
492 U.S. 302 (1989); Stanford v. Kentucky....
These evaluations require a considerable amount of time for interviewing the
defendant, reviewing collateral information and assisting the defense attorney
in preparation to the trial.
The reports can include, but are not limited to:
1. Source of referral
2. Dates and places of the evaluation, and time spent in the preparation of the
report.
3. Statement of non-confidentiality.
4. List of reference materials and of interviews utilized in the preparation of
the report.
5. Detailed background information of the defendant.
6. Past psychiatric history
7. Medical history
8. Substance abuse history.
9. Description of the offense in question by the defendant.
10. Review of collateral information to reconstruct the mental state of the
defendant at the time of the offense, and the time proximate to the offense.
These usually include police reports, witness accounts, notes and discharge
summaries from recent hospitalizations, accounts of communications of the
defendant with others, etc.
11. Diagnostic Impression
12. Detailed account as to how the given diagnosis has been reached.
13. Past Criminal History of the defendant
14. Whether or not the offence was committed under the influence of extreme
mental or emotional disturbance
15. To what extent if any the victim was a participant in the defendant’s
conduct or consented to the act.
16. Whether or not at the time of commission of the capital felony the defendant
had impaired capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform
his conduct to the requirements of the law.
17. Assessment of the risk factors of violent behavior.
18. Issue of malingering (feigning signs or symptoms of mental illness). The
evaluator should provide the basis to his conclusion.
19. Summary, integrating all pertinent mitigating and/or aggravating factors.
The party making the referral is responsible for the provision of the necessary collateral information for the preparation of the repot.
*The evaluator retains the right to refuse to become involved in a case for undisclosed reasons.
© 1999 - 2007 Mark I. Levy, MD, DFAPA