Competency Proceeding Law and Legal Definition
Competency proceeding is a proceeding to evaluate a person’s mental capacity. It is usually conducted in both civil and criminal proceedings. In a criminal proceeding it is conducted to determine a defendant’s competency to stand trial, while in a civil proceeding it is conducted to measure whether a person should be committed to a mental-health facility. A competency proceeding can be committed at anytime in a trial proceeding before a judge. To initiate the competency proceeding the administrative law judge shall promptly forward a written request for a competency determination to the appropriate circuit court, along with a copy of the papers on file in the revocation proceeding and the administrative law judge's written statement explaining the grounds for finding reason to doubt the probationer's competency. [State ex rel. Vanderbeke v. Endicott, 210 Wis. 2d 502 (Wis. 1997)]
