Boyfriend possibly has a mental illness...waiting for evaluation.

[macyfarmer]

the court is doing the evaluation for their knowledge but also to see if he is competent enough to be in court? what does this mean? if he is actually diagnosed with something such as schizophrenia does this mean they will take him away or what? i am so confused as to what it really has to do with his case...?

[yourself]

Ok, a competency hearing tries to answer two questions: Does he know what he's charged with and can he aid in his defense. Those are the only 2 questions they are concerned with.

A psychologist or psychiatrist will visit him in jail and talk with him. He may or may not do a few tests. The shrink will then write a report noting any diagnosis and whether or not s/he feels that the Defendant understands what's going on and can aid in his defense. The diagnosis is to a great extent meaningless - you can have schizophrenia or bipolar with psychosis or be developmentally disabled and still be competent to stand trial. As long as the Court answers the above two questions affirmatively, he can stay in the criminal justice system and the case can go forward. If he does get a diagnosis, appropriate psychopharmacological treatment will be made available to him, but he's not required to take it.

If either or both of those questions are answered, "No" by the court, then the case stops, time is tolled, and the Defendant will be given the help he needs until he's able to stand trial, i.e. competent to stand trial. Usually that means a trip to the State mental hospital where he will be offered psychotropic medications and therapies to help him become competent. He will not be required to take those meds unless and until there's a court order mandating forced medication. If that becomes relevant, there will be a civil hearing to determine whether he MUST be medicated (the standard there is usually whether or not he's a danger to himself or others without medication, and that medication is the only way to make him no longer a danger to self or others).

After a couple of months of treatment, he'd be brought back to court and the judge again would make a determination of whether he's competent to stand trial. That's those initial 2 questions again. If he's competent, then he's transferred back to the county jail and criminal process begins again. If not, the case is usually delayed 6 months and treatment is continued while the Defendant goes back to the State Hospital to continue treatment.

It should be noted, NONE of this has any bearing on whether he was "insane" at the time the crime was committed. That's a whole different ball of wax that isn't addressed until trial when insanity is raised as an affirmative defense - a "yes, he did the crime, but because of a mental disease or defect, he was not legally responsible because that mental disease or defect did not appreciate the wrongness of his actions"

Hope that helps.

[NicoleLovee]

My boyfriend was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia :/ Im waiting to hear more though.

[Endstatism]

I am dealing with a daughter who was recently diagnosed with schizophernia (not the paranoid type) and psychotic disorder while in jail. She is about to be sent to the state mental hospital because she has been found to be incompetent to stand trial. This is a mixed bag when it comes to the judicial system. The good news, the sentence can be mitigated depending on the type of crime. The bad news, the court can keep him confined to a mental facility for up to a statutory limit, depending on which state you reside in. That can mean he could be kept in a institution longer than what he would have served in prison as a non impaired individual. You also need to be aware that if he is mentally ill, there are some protections under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Originally Posted by NicoleLovee

My boyfriend was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia :/ Im waiting to hear more though.

[mridgeman]

Having a mental illness does not mean they cannot stand trial. Actually it is a lot more difficult to prove someone can't help in their defense. Most are ruled competent and do stand trial. He will get his meds eventually and still have to go through the trial process. I would work more at getting the meds started and having him helped that way. You are just prolonging a trial. It will happen and you might as well get it done with now. Good luck I am sure your attorney already went through this with you.

[yourself]

Originally Posted by Endstatism

I am dealing with a daughter who was recently diagnosed with schizophernia (not the paranoid type) and psychotic disorder while in jail. She is about to be sent to the state mental hospital because she has been found to be incompetent to stand trial. This is a mixed bag when it comes to the judicial system. The good news, the sentence can be mitigated depending on the type of crime. The bad news, the court can keep him confined to a mental facility for up to a statutory limit, depending on which state you reside in. That can mean he could be kept in a institution longer than what he would have served in prison as a non impaired individual. You also need to be aware that if he is mentally ill, there are some protections under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

there is not a state in the union that won't keep a person a lot longer than a criminal "statutory minimum" if that person is deemed a danger to self or others. They get switched to the civil mental health docket where the question is one of "danger to self or others" and not "capable of understanding the charges against him/her and able to aid in his/her defense"

The dx is superfluous. A person in a persistent vegetative state is not competent to stand trial AND cannot be released from a long term care facility without loss of life. A person with stage 3 syphilis will probably never be released from a facility because s/he'd be a danger to self or others, even with the syph "cured" (ever see the brain of a stage 3 syph? scary).

A psychiatric dx does not mean that a person is incompetent to stand trial. It does not mean that the person was insane at the time the crime was committed. These are VERY SEPARATE ISSUES.

Competency is not a static thing. Competency to stand trial is merely whether the person is 1. aware of the charges against him/her AND 2. capable of aiding in his/her defense.

Competency to represent somebody at trial requires an active law license in that jurisdiction.

Competency to fly a plane mean somebody who's fully licensed and endorsed to fly that type of aircraft in those types of conditions.

Competency to write a will requires 1. knowing what a will does, 2. knowing who the natural objects of his/her bounty, 3. have an understanding of the property he/she owns, 4. understand the disposition being made.

Competency to enter into a contract requires a person to be 18 (generally, there is some variability state to state and by whether the contract deals with a necessity like a rental agreement for an apartment v. a non-essential, like the purchase contract for a car).

The above list is just a fragment of the types of competencies out there. You can have a mental disorder or defect and be fully competent to fly a plane, contract, and take part in civil or criminal process. You can be sitting in a mental institution under involuntary commitment and still be competent to execute a will.

You do not have to commit a crime to be locked up in a mental hospital for the rest of your life - all you need is for a court (note, we're talking a court, not a doctor, but a court, after a hearing on the issues) to decide you are a danger to yourself or others. Even with frequent review, you can still wind up in a state facility for decades without ever running afoul of the police, and without ever getting even a parking ticket.