Crim Pro Flashcards
Competent to stand trial
A defendant’s incompetency is a bar to trial.
The judge has a constitutional duty to investigate and determine the competence of the defendant to stand trial if such evidence is apparent to the judge.
The test for whether a defendant is competent to stand trial is the same test for determining whether the defendant is competent to plead guilty: whether the defendant comprehends the nature of the proceedings against him and has the ability to consult with a lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.
M’Naghten test
Under the M’Naghten test (“test”), a defendant is not guilty if, because of a defect of reason due to a mental disease, the defendant did not know either **
(i) the nature and quality of the act**, or
(ii) **the wrongfulness of the act. **
STEP 1: defect of reason due to mental disease
STEP 2: ** the nature and quality of the act** or **the wrongfulness of the act. **
However, loss of control because of mental illness is not a defense under this test.
Irresistible Impluse
Irresistible impulse—D lacked capacity for self-control and free choice due to mental disease or defect (inability to conform conduct to the law)
Durham
Durham—the unlawful act was the product of D’s mental disease or defect (“but for” test)
MPC Insanity Test
MPC combines M’Naghten and irresistible impulse
—at the time of the conduct, D
lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act or to conform his conduct to law, as a result of mental disease or defect
6A
The right attaches at all critical stages of a prosecution after formal proceedings have begun, such as an indictment or a formal charge.
However, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach before the accused is formally charged,
and the right is offense-specific, so it only applies to the specific offense at issue in the formal proceedings.
5A
The Fifth Amendment, as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, provides the accused with the **right to consult with an attorney and have an attorney present during a custodial interrogation. **
Custodial = reasonable person would not feel free to leave
Interrogation = intent to elicit information from suspect
The defendant must invoke the right to counsel by making a specific, unambiguous statement asserting his right to have counsel present.
Once the right to counsel is invoked, **all interrogation must stop until counsel is present. **
5A Waiver
Once the right is invoked, a defendant may knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to remain silent.
The **burden is on the government **to show that waiver was both knowing and voluntary based on the **totality of the circumstances. **
suspect **waives his right to remain silent by making an uncoerced statement **to the police.
A** confession is involuntary only if the police coerced** the defendant into making the confession.
Once the right to remain silent has been waived, the police are under no obligation to inform the defendant that defense counsel is trying to reach him.
