Assessing Competency and Responsibility in Criminal Cases

Co-Sponsored with the Social Law Library

Program Faculty:

Hon. Thomas A. Connors
Superior Court (Chair)

Hon. Robert C. Cosgrove
Superior Court

Hon. Kenneth J. Fishman
Superior Court

Debra A. Pinals, M.D.
Assistant Commissioner, Forensic Services, Department of Mental Health

This bench/bar program will present the intricacies of dealing with mental-health issues at both pre-trial and trial. Topics will include:

• How judges address competency issues within the statutory framework
• How clinicians assess issues of competency and of assertion at trial of impaired mental capacity
• Practical Considerations in Dealing with Competency Issues, including the Consequences of an Incompetency Finding
• Pretrial Procedures relating to Evaluations of a Defendant’s Mental Condition at the Time of the Crime Alleged
• Trial Issues in Cases Involving Evidence of Defendant’s Lack of Criminal Responsibility or Mental Impairment