1. The Court’s Obligation

JurisdictionNew York

1.. The Court’s Obligation

The court is obliged to raise the issue of incompetency sua sponte

[i]f at any time before final judgment in a criminal action it shall appear to the court that there is reasonable ground for believing that a defendant is in such a state of idiocy, imbecility or insanity that he is incapable of understanding the charge, indictment or proceedings or of making his defense.10

The court in People v. Arnold11 articulated the test to be applied as, “Did the trial judge receive information which, objectively considered, should reasonably have raised a doubt about defendant’s competency and alerted him to the possibility that the defendant could neither understand the proceedings or appreciate their significance, nor rationally aid his attorney in his defense?”12 The Arnold court found that three factors have evolved from the...

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