-- Badtux the Conflicted Penguin
In a time of chimpanzees, I was a penguin.
The religious right is motivated by the suspicion that someone, somewhere,
is having fun -- and that this must be stopped.
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.
3 comments:
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one word folk
ReplyDeletefacist
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
I just read this this morning. Another little gift from Ronnie Raygun's policy of closing down publicly funded mental hospitals.
ReplyDeleteposted April 01, 2007 7:28 pm
Tomgram: Ward, How the Public Library Became Heartbreak Hotel
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.