Competent to Stand Trial Law & Legal Definition
Due process requires that a defendant be competent to stand trial, which includes capacity to assist counsel and to understand the nature of the proceeding sufficiently to participate in and make decisions about rights afforded to defendants.
There are several acceptable approaches for performance of competency to stand trial evaluations including standardized methods such as state competency tests. Traditionally, a full-fledged assessment involves a clinical interview, a mental status exam, a psychological test, and a social history, but the modern trend is to rely upon an interview and/or a psychological test. There are a number of psychological tests available in standardized and local variations. Many evaluators use clinical measures of personality and intelligence, such as thestandardized test MMPI-2.
Legal Definitions
Search Definitions
Get a Term Defined
- Request a legal definition! Submit a term you need defined.
- » Request Legal Definition
Submit a Definition
- Submit a Definition Help us build our database. Free listings for attorneys.
- » Submit a Definition
Help Build USLegal
- Join our Team and help build USLegal. Many opportunities for participation so Join our Network.
Build USLegal
Read a Law Digest
- Need to read the law or find an answer to a legal question? Visit our Law Digest for the largest selection of law digests and answers available.
Go to Law Digest
Form Packages
- Select from our most popular legal form packages.
- » Bankruptcy
- » Contract for Deed
- » Divorce
- » Employment Packages
- » Home Sales
- » Incorporation
- » LLC Formation
- » Landlord Tenant
- » Mutual Wills
- » Name Change
- » Personal Planning
- » Partnerships
- » View All Packages
Legal Life
- Organize your legal life today! View our free online guide to creating a Life Documents File and related products.
- » Life Documents File
- » Personal Planning Package
- » Life Documents Packages
- » New Parents
- » Newlyweds
- » Baby Boomers
- » Military
- » Other
Form Drafting
- Can′t find the form you need, or need a form we offer revised for your situation? Submit your request and our attorneys will review the request and let you know if the form can be provided.
Submit a drafting request...
