M3A1: Time Limits for Competency Restoration

38586M3A1: Time Limits for Competency Restoration

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a person who has been determined to be incompetent to stand trial can be subject to treatment for the purpose of restoring competency. However, the defendant cannot be held indefinitely.

In Jackson v Indiana, 406 U.S. 715 (1972), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the person “cannot be held more than the reasonable period of time necessary to determine whether there is a substantial probability that he will attain that capacity in the foreseeable future.” The Court did not dictate what amount of time would be reasonable, leaving that determination to the states. The legislatively authorized time frames are quite variable, ranging from a few months to multiple years.

Read the following:

Reference to case decided by the U.S. Supreme court. Jackson v Indiana (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., 406 U.S. 715 (1972) at http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/406/715/

Review the maximum time limits for competency restoration that have been proposed by the National Judicial College as Best Practices (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. at http://www.mentalcompetency.org/
Write an essay of about 300-400 words in word format. Use the American Psychological Association (APA) style (6th edition) for writing your assignment. Cite specific statements from the referenced material. The essay should answer the following questions:

What are the maximum limits for competency restoration?
To what extent would legal scholars and behavioral scientISTs agree with these limits? Support your assertions, citing evidence from the text and the video Competency to Stand Trial.
Do you agree? In your opinion, what period of time would be reasonable for attempting to restore competency to a defendant found IST (i.e., after what amount of time should a defendant found IST be released if competency has not been restored)? Should statutory limits vary based on seriousness of offense charged?