Competency Evaluation vs. Criminal Responsibility in NY

Stephan M. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAPA · Criminal Competency and Responsibility

Short answer: a competency evaluation asks about the defendant's capacity now; criminal responsibility asks about mental state at the time of the alleged offense. The two questions use different standards and should not share one opinion section. Two familiar phrases in criminal forensic work—"competency" and "criminal responsibility"—sit on different clocks, draw on different evidence, and answer to different statutes. An opinion that lets one bleed into the other is usually the one that does not survive cross-examination. Two questions, two clocks Fitness to proceed is a present-tense question: can this defendant, as he sits in the courtroom now, understand the proceedings and assist in hi

Most relevant service: Competency & Criminal Responsibility Evaluations