Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
McGarry capacities for pro se competencies.
Tables
- Table 1
Varimax-Rotated Principal Component Analysis of the McGarry Capacities for Pro Se Competency*
Component Defendant Capacity† Lawyering Capacity† Appreciate charges .850 .118 Range of penalties .816 .281 Available legal defenses .280 .813 Plan legal strategy .140 .926 Appraise likely outcome .568 .474 Role of court personnel .700 .157 Understand court procedure .454 .554 Testify relevantly .505 .466 Question/challenge witnesses .172 .843 Appropriate behavior .733 .211 Self-serving motivation .689 .262 Variance explained 50.53% 13.20% There is a presumption of competence; mental disease or defect must be present to render a defendant incompetent. If CST is in question, the defendant must first be adjudicated as CST according to the Dusky2 standard. The defendant must meet a higher standard of competence than for CST in the following areas: -
Appraisal of available legal defenses
-
Planning a legal strategy
-
Questioning and challenging witnesses
The defendant must be within the general average range of cognitive abilities in the following domains: -
General intelligence
-
Verbal ability
-
Literacy
The defendant must be willing to accept an SBC, who will be appointed by mandate. The SBC appointee has the right and responsibility to request a new evaluation for CST or PSC at any time during the course of the trial proceedings. The defendant must possess a rational reason for proceeding pro se. The defendant's rationality should be assessed by the expert witness but ruled on by the presiding judge. -
