RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 AAPL Practice Guideline for the Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial: An American Legal Perspective JF Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online JO J Am Acad Psychiatry Law FD American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law SP 509 OP 513 VO 35 IS 4 A1 W. Lawrence Fitch YR 2007 UL http://jaapl.org/content/35/4/509.abstract AB The AAPL Practice Guideline for the Forensic Psychiatric Evaluation of Competence to Stand Trial provides a rich discussion of the legal standards and procedures for evaluating and determining a criminal defendant's trial competence and for restoring to competence defendants found to be incompetent. The document includes an up‐to‐date discussion of the applicable case law, examines ethics considerations for forensic examiners, addresses cultural issues, and offers practical templates for interviewing defendants and preparing reports. Although its focus is on trial competence in adult criminal court, the document also attends to competency considerations for minors facing delinquency proceedings in juvenile court. Comprehensive and incisive, if not optimally organized and tabulated, the Guideline will serve as the standard reference for psychiatrists asked to provide trial competence assessments in criminal and juvenile court cases.