A mental health expert witness can either be a forensic psychologist or psychiatrist. Mental Health Expert WitnessesĮxpert witnesses are often called into cases to help with the facts of the crime. The big takeaway is that those who are deemed unfit to stand trial may have to still face charges and incarceration after they are committed, unlike those who plea the defense of insanity at the time of their unlawful action. Once the person is deemed to be competent, they State reserves the right to bring charges against them again for the previous infraction. At which point they may either be re-evaluated every few months or in cases where the individual may be perceived to be unlikely to recover they may be put in a more permanent facility. Unlike this defense though, the person is held in a mental institution until they are deemed competent. Just like the affirmative defense of Insanity, the person cannot be put in jail while they are incompetent. When the Defendant’s competence is at issue, the court requires that they be examined by an expert to properly ascertain the person’s mental prowess. The Defendant’s competence is therefore always an issue that can be raised at any point during the proceedings. This is particularly important in criminal proceedings as one of the most basic tenets in our jurisprudence is that the accused must be competent to stand trial. The Defendant has no rational and factual understanding of the proceedings that are occurring against him.The Defendant currently lacks the ability to consult with their attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, or.Under Florida Statute Section 916.12, a person lacks the capacity to proceed in a criminal trial and is therefore not competent when: When a person lacks capacity to understand the charges they are being charged with or are unable to communicate with their attorney in a rational way, the court may find the defendant to be unfit to stand trial. It is important to understand the difference between being competent to stand trial, and the affirmative defense of insanity. To find out more about the insanity defense explained, find our blog post here. Having a skilled defense attorney can help with finding a strong mental health expert witness. In most situations, it is likely that a mental health expert witness will have to come into the case to help prove this affirmative defense. It is up to the defendant to prove by clear and convincing evidence that they should be considered to have been insane at the time of a crime. In some cases, the amount of time in a mental institution may even be longer than the original prison sentence. This is the alternative to going to jail: the accused is forced to receive treatment for their mental illness. In the case that a defendant is acquitted due to an insanity plea, they may be sent to a mental institution after the case ends.
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