Research Exercise Assessing Criminal Competence

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You must read each slide, and complete any questions on the slide, in sequence.

Research Exercise

Assessing Criminal Competence

Due process of law demands that defendants charged with a crime must be competent at all stages of the criminal proceedings against them, including during sentencing. The Supreme Court has defined competence as the defendant’s current understanding of the nature of the charges and the case against them, as well his being able to assist their attorney in their own defense (Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402). The law presumes that a defendant is competent; the burden is on the defendant to prove lack of competence. Debate is ongoing as to what competence truly means, and both lawyers and psychologists are involved in research efforts to clearly identify a defendant’s competence.

https://jaapl.org/content/39/3/316.long

After reading “Future Orientation and Competence to Stand Trial: The Fragility of Competence,” consider the questions below. Then submit your responses.

1 of 5

Which of the following is the guiding principle in how courts handle the needs and misbehavior of delinquent youth?

2 of 5

Which of the following was the initial court case in which juvenile defendants were granted rights of due process on par with adult defendants?

3 of 5

The present study utilized an assessment instrument by means of legally oriented vignettes and asking the examinee their decision-making process and final decision for each given vignette context. This best describes which assessment instrument in the present study?

4 of 5

Based on the study briefly describe the role of future orientation in decision-making for adolescents.

One possible answer might be that future orientation allows a juvenile to think through consequences and potential effects of an action, even more so any criminal action. Future orientation is also positive associated with psychosocial maturity and therefore those with greater psychosocial maturity are more likely to be competent and understand the potential consequences of a given action.

5 of 5

Briefly discuss the impact of cognitive impairment in relation to juvenile competence to stand trial.

One possible answer might be that cognitive impairment can negatively impact a juvenile’s ability to maintain future orientation and therefore this can affect their capacity to adequately and accurately determine the long-term impact of a potentially criminal action.

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