Forensic Psychology: Chapter 8

Fitness to Stand Trial
- Unfit to stand trial: inability to conduct a defense at any stage of the proceedings on account of a person’s mental disorder
- This issue can be raised …
o When a plea is entered
o When a defendant chooses not to be represented by consul
o During sentencing
- The burden of proving unfitness is on the party who raises the issue

Bill C-30
- A person is unfit to stand trial if he/she cannot…
o Understand the nature or object of the proceedings
o Understand the possible consequences of the proceedings
o Communicate with consul
- Five day limit on court ordered assessments
o With provisions for extensions for up to 30 days
o Entire length of detention cannot exceed 60 days

Fitness Instruments
1) Interview Test Revised (FIT-R)
a. Based on the fitness criteria in the Canadian code
b. A semi structured interview
c. Responses are rated on a 3 point scale (higher = more impaired)

Other tools
- CST (22 item sentence completion)
- CAI: one hour structured interview

More likely to...
- Live alone
- Be psychotic
- Have been hospitalized
- Have received treatment before
- Be African American

Less likely to
- Engage in substance abuse
- Be or have been married
- Have a job
- Have committed violent crimes

What happens after finding a defendant to be unfit?
- The proceedings are halted until competency is restored
- The defendant may be detained in a hospital
- They are reassessed in 45 days
- If they remain unfit for 90 days, they are revered to a review board for assessment and disposition
- If they remain unfit, they are re-assessed on an annual basis
o Prima facie case: in each case, the Crown must prove there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial
o If there isn’t enough evidence, the defendant is found ‘not guilty’

What if the defendant is unlikely to become fit?
- Bill C-10: the court can discharge the accused if any of the following are true…
o The accused is unlikely to ever become fit
o The accused doesn’t pose a threat to the safety of the public
o A stay of proceedings is in the interest of the proper administration of justice

History of the insanity defense
- Insanity: impairment of mental or emotional functioning that affects perceptions, beliefs, and motivations at the time of the offence
- Criminal Lunatics Act: established in 1800, and was the first ‘insanity standard’
- Influential cases:
o James Hadfield: attempted to assassinate King George 3; however, his lawyer successfully argued he was out of touch with reality
o Daniel McNaughton: Daniel killed the secretary of the Prime Ministor in England; however, was found not guilty due to insanity

McNaughton Verdict: five criteria for the insanity defense
1. A defendant must be found to be suffering form a defect of reason/disease of the mind
2. A defendant must not know the nature and quality of the act he/she is performing
3. A defendant must not know what he/she is doing wrong

***They do NOT need to be diagnosed with a mental disorder under this criteria!***

How common is the insanity defence used and is successful?
- Less than 1% of all felony cases will argue an insanity defence
- Out of that 1%, only 25% of defendants who argue an insanity defence succeeed
- Defendants found NCRMD likely have a major psychiatric disorder as well as many past mental health problems

Two situations in which the crown can raise the issue of insanity
1. Following a guilty verdict, the crown can argue the defendant was NCRMD to ensure they receive treatment
2. If the defense states the defendant has a mental illness, the crown can then argue it

Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (R-CRAS)
1. Assesses insanity
2. Five scales
a. Patient reliability
b. Organicity
c. Psychopathology
d. Cognitive control
e. Behavioral control
3. Each scale has 30 items
4. Items are rated from 0-6

What happens to a defendant found NCRMD
1. Absolute discharge: the defendant is realized into the community without restrictions on his or her behavior
2. Conditional discharge: a defendant is released; however, release carries certain conditions (i.e. not to possess firearms) that the defendant must meet. Failure to meet conditions may result in their being incarcerated or sent to a psychiatric facility
3. Remand to psychiatric facility

Dispositions

- Can be made either
o By the court, and then reviewed by a review board with the ability to be altered within 90 days
o By the review board

- Information taken into account:
o Charge information
o Trial transcript
o Criminal history
o Risk assessment
o Clinical history
o Psychological testing
o Hospitals recommendation

- Capping: Bill C-30 states that there s a maximum period of time a person with a mental illness could be affected by their disposition
o E.g. disposition for a person with a mental illness who committed a violence offence is 10 years
o However, the cap can be increased by other factors