Adjudicative competence, also referred to as
competence to stand trial, is a legal construct describing the criminal defendant's ability to understand and participate in legal proceedings. This includes the defendant's current ability to participate in various pleas and waivers of rights. It is unrelated to any possibility of an insanity plea. It is also unrelated to the ability of the defendant to represent himself, or to any evaluation of
mitigation factors.
[
] The definition of adjudicative competence was provided by the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''
Dusky v. United States''.
An empirical basis for the clinical assessment of competence has not yet been established.
See also
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Competence (law)
In United States and Canadian law, competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings or transactions, and the mental condition a person must have to be responsible for his or her decisions or acts. Comp ...
Footnotes
External links
Adjudicative Competence: The MacArthur Studies Standards for Determination of CompetenceThe MacArthur Juvenile Adjudicative Competence StudyEvaluating Juveniles' Adjudicative Competence: A Guide for Clinical Practice
Mental health law
Forensic psychology
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