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.
[
] In the United States, 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 turn on question ...
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)
Footnotes
External links
Adjudicative Competence: The MacArthur Studies Standards for Determination of Competence
The MacArthur Juvenile Adjudicative Competence StudyEvaluating Juveniles' Adjudicative Competence: A Guide for Clinical Practice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adjudicative Competence
Mental health law
Forensic psychology
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