Category: Competency Evaluations
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Individuals with Intellectual Disability in the Criminal Justice System
Individuals with intellectual disabilities are arrested, charged, and incarcerated at disproportionately high rates. While intellectual disability is not a cause of crime, this population faces systemic barriers that complicate their interaction within the standard legal system. Challenges related to abstract reasoning, communication deficits, and struggles with judgment can substantially impact their right to due process. …
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Faking Mental Illness
Individuals sometimes falsely report symptoms of mental illness during forensic evaluations. They might falsely report relatively minor symptoms, such as anxiety or insomnia, or they might pretend to suffer from a severe illness, such as schizophrenia. The reasons for this behavior are wide-ranging and deserve an entire series, but in this post we’re going to…
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After the Competency Hearing
We previously reviewed the main conclusions that a competency evaluation might reach. The competency evaluation offers an opinion and a recommendation, but the ultimate decision is made by the judge at a competency hearing. Let’s explore some of the decisions the judge might make, as well as their potential consequences. It’s worth noting that these…
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Competency Evaluation Opinions
The legal process is fraught with uncertainty even without the added complexity of competency. Defendants frequently ask about the possible outcomes of a competency evaluation. The evaluator is limited to one of only a few possible opinions about a defendant’s competency, although the ultimate decision is in the hands of the judge. One opinion is…
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Difficult Questions
For a defense attorney, requesting a competency evaluation can be stressful. Trust is fundamental to the attorney-client relationship, but there is rarely enough time to build a great deal of rapport, especially for public defenders. Questioning a person’s mental state risks losing the small amount of hard-earned trust you’ve managed to gain. Fortunately, this risk…
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No Need to Wait
Judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors all have a responsibility to raise the question of competency if it appears warranted, but defense attorneys face the greatest challenges in this regard. Defense attorneys are not mental health professionals, yet they are expected to recognize signs of serious mental illness. Moreover, when the defense attorney is uncertain about…