What is Competency to Stand Trial?
Competency to Stand Trial, sometimes abbreviated as CST, is the competency evaluation to determine if a defendant in a court case has the mental ability to understand the charges against him or her and work with his or her attorney in the preparation process and the trial itself.
In addition to the determination of competency to stand trial, a prisoner facing the death penalty must be evaluated as competent to be executed, meaning that he must be capable of understanding why he has received the death penalty and what its effect is. Competency can also include competence to plead guilty and competence to waive the right to counsel.
The issue of mental incompetence is the single most important issue in the criminal mental health field. And it appears that the number of evaluations of criminal defendants is rising. To be determined to be competent, the defendant must understand the charges against him or her and have the ability to aid his attorney in his own defense.
The establishment of competency is an area that expert psychiatric witnesses can determine. There are many variables that the forensic psychiatrist must examine. Besides the ability to understand the charges against him or her, they include adequate mental ability to even understand that he or she is present in a court and charged with a crime, recognition that there is a judge presiding over the case and a prosecutor representing the other side, that there is a jury present to determine a verdict of guilt or innocence, that a lawyer is available to defend him or her against the charges, and that the defendant is expected to help his or her attorney in presenting the case.
An integral part of this process is performing a competency evaluation, which is an assessment of the ability of a defendant to understand and rationally participate in a court process. The pretrial competency evaluation of the defendant's overall mental status and mental state at the time of the examination should provide enough information to allow a judge to rule on the competency of the defendant in case a motion is made by either the prosecution or defense attorney. A judge may also directly rule a defendant incompetent to stand trial without receiving a motion to that effect from the defendant's legal counsel.
Sometimes defendants feign mental incompetency in order to not be found guilty of a crime. Malingering or pretending illness during a competency evaluation is legally considered to be obstruction of justice and can lead to an increased sentence.
Who is deemed qualified to conduct a competency evaluation varies from state to state. However, in most instances a forensic psychiatrist can perform a competency evaluation. Originally competency evaluations included a range of tests and assessments. Recently the tendency is to simplify the process by relying upon an interview and, optionally, a psychological evaluation which can be performed by a forensic psychiatrist. There are a number of standardized screening devices that also can be used.
About the Author:
Stephen Kelly is a entrepreneur and freelance writer. Be sure to check out this Forensic Psychiatrist website for more great articles like this one.
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