Competency to stand trial

Competency standard

Faretta v. California specified that the competency to waive the right to counsel should not be determined based on the criminal defendant's understanding of legal jargon. Criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves even if they do not understand all legal jargon. In other words, a criminal defendant may be competent to represent him/herself even if they would do so poorly. Rather, the competency standard for the right to waive counsel is the same standard as competency to stand trial, a decision by the Supreme Court in Godinez v. Moran. As such, if a defendant is found competent to stand trial, they are also competent to waive their right to counsel. Therefore, competence to waive counsel is based on whether the criminal defendant does so knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily. In order for the waiver to be knowing, the criminal defendant must understand the right that they are waiving. In order for the waiver to be intelligent, the criminal defendant should understand the disadvantages of waiving their right to counsel and representing themselves. In order for the waiver to be voluntary, there should be no presence of coercion, and a defendant should opt to waive their right due to their own free will.