Understanding Mental Competency in Criminal Trials
What happens in a criminal case when you’re not mentally competent to stand trial? I’m Tulsa criminal attorney Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office in Oklahoma. I want to take a couple of minutes to make law easy and talk about how your mental health can play into a criminal case, especially in instances where it prevents you from being able to assist in your defense and stand trial.
I’ve been practicing law for over 7 years, and I’ve had a couple of times where my client’s mental competency has been a factor in figuring out what to do with their criminal cases. In these situations, what you want to look at is, do you think that they can make their own decisions and ultimately assist in their defense. Usually, attorneys can figure that out by having one or two conversations with their clients.
Identifying Mental Competency Concerns
If I’m asking my client questions and he’s not able to answer them, or if I’m asking my client questions… Okay, when I say not able to answer them, I don’t expect my client to know the same level as an attorney, but if I’m asking him what day it is and they say the color’s purple, then I’m going to have some questions about if they truly understand what we’re talking about. Those are the types of things that lead me to think that I might need to question their competency.
A lot of times I’m not the first one to have these questions. Usually, if this is an issue, friends and family of the client will also come to me and say, listen, this is something that you need to know, this is something they’ve been dealing with. Maybe it’s a medical diagnosis. Maybe it’s something where there are some learning disabilities involved. Maybe there’s a case of head trauma or brain injury or something like that.
The Legal Process for Competency Evaluation
Those are all justifiable things that would prevent someone from being able to assist in their trial or prevent them from being considered to be competent, at least in a legal sense. What we do is file a motion to determine competency. We have a hearing set for it. The court would order a competency evaluation to be done. If my client’s sitting in custody, then that’s going to trigger a waiting game to see when the state’s going to be able to perform that evaluation.
After the evaluation’s done, if there’s a determination that my client’s incompetent, we’ll have another hearing on it. We’ll present the findings of the evaluation. The defendant actually will have, at that time, an opportunity to object to the findings. If they do, then you have to have a full-on evidentiary hearing about it. But if the defendant doesn’t object to the findings and essentially allows themselves to be deemed incompetent for their case, then it comes down to when and how can we get them treated so that they can stay on trial.
Moving Forward with Treatment and Support
The goal is never to just leave someone incarcerated, deemed incompetent, and just sitting there forever. The goal is always to get them back up to just at least a level of competency to where they can help with their case. This isn’t always quick. Sometimes I’ve seen cases where it happens in a couple of months. I’ve seen cases where it takes upwards of a year for that to happen. It just kind of depends on the situation.
It’s a really heavy thing to have to deal with. If you or someone you know is in that situation, my heart goes out to you. If you have questions about it or you think you might need the assistance of an attorney on this, absolutely, please reach out to our office. I’m Tulsa criminal lawyer Carl Birkhead with Wirth Law Office, and I want to make law easy. Thank you.
Start with a Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
If you are facing concerns about mental competency in a criminal case, it is crucial to seek professional legal guidance. Contact Wirth Law Office for a low-cost initial strategy session. Call 918-879-1681 to discuss your situation and understand your options. We’re here to help guide you through these challenging times.
