[Download] "Developments in the United States Supreme Court" by Developments in Mental Health Law * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

June 16, 2021

eBook details

Title: Developments in the United States Supreme Court
Author : Developments in Mental Health Law
Release Date : January 01, 2008
Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 72 KB

Description

United States Supreme Court Holds That Criminal Defendants with Severe Mental Illness, Although Found Competent to Stand Trial, May Be Denied Their Right to Self-Representation if Trial Judge Determines That They Do Not Have the Mental Capacity to Conduct Their Defense Without an Attorney Almost fifty years ago in Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960), the United States Supreme Court (USSC) recognized that a criminal defendant has a constitutional right to be competent to stand trial (CST). The USSC reaffirmed this holding fifteen years later in Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162 (1975). The rationale for these rulings is that (1) the constitutionally guaranteed right of due process of law (or fundamental fairness) requires that defendants have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in their case, and (2) if a defendant is mentally incapable of meaningfully participating, the right to trial is an empty right.