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Standards for Determining Competency and for
Conducting a
Hearing
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The conviction of a defendant while mentally incompetent
violates due
process. See Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378
(1966). Under
18 U.S.C. § 4241(a), the court must order a competency hearing
...if there is reasonable cause to believe that the
defendant may
presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering
him mentally
incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the
nature and
consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly
in his defense.
18 U.S.C. § 4241(a). A hearing may be ordered on motion by
the defendant
or the attorney for the Government, or by the court
sua sponte. Id.
Prior to the date of the hearing, the court may order that a
psychiatric
or psychological examination of the defendant be conducted, and
that a
psychiatric or psychological report be filed with the court
pursuant to the
provisions of Section 4247. The hearing itself is conducted
according to the
procedures set forth at Section 4247(d). These provide that the
defendant shall
be represented by counsel, and shall have the opportunity to
testify, to present
evidence, to subpoena witnesses on his or her behalf, and to
confront and
cross-examine witnesses who appear at the hearing. In determining
whether the
defendant is competent to stand trial, the court must determine
"whether [the
defendant] has sufficient present ability to consult with his
lawyer with a
reasonable degree of rational understanding -- and whether he has
a rational as
well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him."
Dusky v.
United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960).
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