My thoughts on that is tbh at if a defendant was coherently and effectively serving as their own attorney in court, that would indicate to the court that they are not severely mentally ill. Or if they produced evidence like expert testimony saying they were, it could disqualify them from self representing.
My thoughts on that is tbh at if a defendant was coherently and effectively serving as their own attorney in court, that would indicate to the court that they are not severely mentally ill.
You really can’t say that. Psychoses come and go, people with severe mental illness can be completely normal one day and delusional the other.
I guess it depends what the court wants to believe, which could be based on case law/precedent or expert testimony. It seems likely to me that an insanity defense being presented would increase the scrutiny the judge would apply to the defendant’s competence to represent themselves. It is required that a judge establish that a defendant seeking to go Pro Se is making an informed and rational decision.
A person who is severely mentally ill may be barred from representing themselves if they would not be able to do a competent job.
See https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/court-amends-rule-dealing-with-the-right-to-self-representation/
My thoughts on that is tbh at if a defendant was coherently and effectively serving as their own attorney in court, that would indicate to the court that they are not severely mentally ill. Or if they produced evidence like expert testimony saying they were, it could disqualify them from self representing.
You really can’t say that. Psychoses come and go, people with severe mental illness can be completely normal one day and delusional the other.
I guess it depends what the court wants to believe, which could be based on case law/precedent or expert testimony. It seems likely to me that an insanity defense being presented would increase the scrutiny the judge would apply to the defendant’s competence to represent themselves. It is required that a judge establish that a defendant seeking to go Pro Se is making an informed and rational decision.