B. The Standard

• Jurisdiction: New York

B. The Standard

The Dusky test is the basic one used by most jurisdictions, including New York, to determine whether a defendant is competent to stand trial. In New York, a person must be found to be an incapacitated person, which is “a defendant who as a result of mental disease or defect lacks capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense.”⁶

The New York law does not give much guidance to the examiner or to the attorneys as to what specific issues should be addressed...