RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Adjudicative Competence in the Context of a Defendant's Absence from Trial after a Suicide Attempt
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 558
OP 565
DO 10.29158/JAAPL.230093-23
VO 51
IS 4
A1 Williams, Joseph B.
YR 2023
UL http://jaapl.org/content/51/4/558.abstract
AB Defendants who are facing criminal charges in the United States have a constitutional right to be present at trial. This right can be voluntarily waived; for such a waiver to be valid, the defendant must be competent to waive the right to be present at trial. There have been several cases where a defendant is absent from trial because of a suicide attempt, and in these cases the courts must determine whether it is necessary to pause the criminal trial to allow for a competence hearing to take place. The U.S. Supreme Court offered guidance on this matter in its ruling in Drope v. Missouri; however, the Court did not clearly define the threshold for requiring a competence hearing when defendants attempt suicide during trial. Subsequent judicial rulings have provided insights into how courts might proceed when a criminal defendant is absent from trial following a suicide attempt. This topic has relevance to forensic psychiatry, as forensic psychiatrists may be called upon to participate in evaluations of adjudicative competence in these scenarios.