Competency to Proceed in Criminal Cases. Palm Beach Criminal Attorney, Roger P. Foley

Criminal Attorney discusses Competency to Proceed in Criminal Cases and the difficulty encountered by the court, the defendant,their families and the attorneys. Competency To Proceed basically is whether teh defendant understands the role of the parties in the case. For exampel what is the role of the Judge? What does a jury do? What does a lawyer do? What does the state attorney do? Does teh Defendant understand the proceedings and whether he/she understands the penalties they face in criminal court. Can the defendant aid his attorney in the defense of the case? This is what is all about. If not, then the case is assigned to mental health court wherein the purpose is to restore the defendant back to competency. It is a difficult chore and come with frustration. It requires many court hearings, many doctors, social workers, and various experts that give their opinion. It does not guarantee that teh case will be dismissed. Generally, for a felony case to be dismissed the Defendant must be found to be incompetrent for a period of 5 years. Testing is usually done every 6 months. Questions: Visit our website or call (561) 746-7076.