Competency and crazy: Two different concepts

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=160 BGCOLOR="#333333" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="03cdedc2ddualp.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D"><U><B>Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U><B>Contact Us</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="FAQs"><U><B>FAQs</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Dr. Silverman"><U><B>About Dr. Silverman</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id146.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Great links"><U><B>Great links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Mind Reader© archive"><U><B>The Mind Reader© archive</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="03d64643.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#666633" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D</B></FONT>    |     <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000BF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dr. Wade Silverman, Ph.D"><U>home</U></A></FONT></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> Competency and crazy: Two different concepts</div> <bR> <div> As a forensic psychologist I am asked to do competency evaluations to determine whether an individual is able to proceed to trial. According to rule 3.211 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure the scope of the examination should include six factors related to the defendant's capacity: (1) introduction and notification, (2) social history inquiry, (3) defendant's version of the alleged offense, (4) assessment of knowledge regarding court/legal procedure, (5) current clinical condition, and (6) appraisal of situational/interactional factors.</div> <div> Notice that none of these factors require a diagnosis. The rule requires the examiner to present a factual basis for his/her clinical findings and opinions, not speculation or theory. Thus, it is possible for a defendant to be psychotic and still be declared competent to proceed. Schizophrenia in remission or depressed individuals with psychotic symptoms can be declared competent to proceed if they meet the legal definition of competency. An example of this would be a schizophrenic whose delusions or hallucinations do not relate to his/her alleged crime or to the criminal justice system in general. Ultimately, an attorney must focus on the fact that his or her client is competent to proceed to trial even though the client presents himself or herself as disturbed or dangerously psychotic.</div> <bR> <div> There is no suggested testing protocol for declaring competency to proceed. All examiners conduct a thorough interview specifically assessing the factors described above. They will enhance their data with observations from the prosecuting and defense attorneys as well as any descriptions of mental health treatment. Some examiners may give a general personality test such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 or the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. These particular tests are normed for forensic settings. Finally, there are specific tests for competency such as the McArthur Competence Assessment Tool that may be used to help formalize and organize the written report.          </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>