Thursday, June 19, 2008

I'm not sure what to think about this

Supreme Court says mentally disabled people do not have the right to serve as their own counsel. At issue was a mentally ill person who was found sane enough to stand trial (i.e., sane enough to understand the charges against him), but who was undeniably mentally ill to a point that would interfere with his ability to serve as his own counsel. Does this ruling allow show trials where a court-appointed attorney presents only those arguments which the State wishes presented and does not allow a defendent to present other arguments? Or is it a humane response to the problem of mentally ill defendents choosing to represent themselves and getting convicted where, in the presence of a fair trial, they would not have been convicted? Discuss.

-- Badtux the Conflicted Penguin

3 comments:

  1. one word folk
    facist
    anywho
    i made up a new word in my post today
    obamafication chk it you historical 5 cents is always welcome
    hope all is well

    on

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just read this this morning. Another little gift from Ronnie Raygun's policy of closing down publicly funded mental hospitals.

    posted April 01, 2007 7:28 pm

    Tomgram: Ward, How the Public Library Became Heartbreak Hotel

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting. I work professionally with developmentally disabled individuals (think mental retardation, autism, etc.) and specialize in dual-diagnosis (i.e. mentally ill) and forensic issues.

    I can see the rationale for this decision; however, I generally take a dim view of decisions to limit individuals' rights. But this seems to be a pretty narrow issue; I can't imagine too many defendants being found competent to stand trial who are not also able to be persuaded they should have an attorney. Contrary to episodes of Law & Order, this doesn't happen all that often.

    ReplyDelete

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