Adjudicative competence

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.<ref>

The MacArthur Adjudicative Competence Study(link). {{{website}}}. The MacArthur Research Network on Mental Health and the Law.

</ref><ref>Douglas Mossman,

 AAPL Practice Guideline for the Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial, 
 Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 
 2007,
 Vol. 35(Issue: 4 Suppl),
 pp. S3–72,
 
 PMID: 18083992,
 
 
 Full text,

</ref> 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.<ref>

Richard E.. Adjudicative Competence in Juveniles -- Adjudicative Competence in Practice(link). {{{website}}}. Juvenile Forensic Evaluation Resource Center.

</ref> The definition of adjudicative competence was provided by the United States Supreme Court in Dusky v. United States.

An empirical basis for the clinical assessment of competence has not yet been established.

See also

• Competence (law)

External links

• Adjudicative Competence: The MacArthur Studies
• Standards for Determination of Competence
• The MacArthur Juvenile Adjudicative Competence Study
• Evaluating Juveniles' Adjudicative Competence: A Guide for Clinical Practice

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