Deck 8: Section 3: Competency to Stand Trial

Question 1

According to the information presented in Chapter 8, which of the following is FALSE regarding competency to stand trial?

A) A majority of incompetent defendants are eventually restored to competency.
B) Judges agree with the decisions of competence evaluators most of the time.
C) A majority of individuals referred for a competence evaluation are found incompetent.
D) Defendants can be medicated against their will in order to restore competence.

Answer 1

A majority of individuals referred for a competence evaluation are found incompetent.

Question 2

According to the textbook, all of the following are common mental health problems diagnosed in defendants found to be incompetent to stand trial EXCEPT:

A) obsessive-compulsive disorder.
B) bipolar disorder.
C) schizophrenia.
D) intellectual disability.

Answer 2

obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Question 3

The modern conception of competency to stand trial was defined by the Supreme Court in the case of:

A) Miranda v. Arizona (1966).
B) United States v. Charters (1988).
C) Dusky v. United States (1960).
D) Godinez v. Moran (1993).

Answer 3

Dusky v. United States (1960).

Question 4

Which of the following cases involved the issue of a defendant being forcibly medicated who was deemed not to be a danger to himself or others?

A) Jackson v. Indiana (1972).
B) Washington v. Harper (1990).
C) Sell v. United States (2003).
D) Ford v. Wainwright (1986).

Question 5

Unlike what most people think, malingering means that all of the following is likely to happen to the criminal defendant who is faking incompetency EXCEPT:

A) being set free.
B) getting hospitalized in a secure facility.
C) his or her competency attempted to be restored.
D) if serious, charges can be refiled later, when competency is regained.

Question 6

Some forensic psychologists argue that all of the following conditions should trigger an automatic competency evaluation for juveniles EXCEPT:

A) history of developmental disability.
B) family history of mental illness.
C) low or "borderline" intelligence.
D) age 12 or younger.

Question 7

Which one of the following forensic assessment instruments (FAIs) is considered to be a gold standard for determining competency to stand trial?

A) The Competency Screening Test.
B) The Fitness Interview Test-Revised.
C) The MacArthur Judgment Evaluation Tool.
D) No test or combination of tests can assess CST with certainty.

Question 8

Regarding defendants judged to be incompetent to stand trial, which of the following is FALSE?

A) They tend to be charged with more serious crimes.
B) They have a history of drug abuse.
C) They show symptoms of current mental illness.
D) They have a history of mental health treatment.

Question 9

Most states limit the period of confinement for defendants found to be incompetent to somewhere between:

A) 4 and 18 months.
B) 2 and 3 years.
C) 30 and 90 days.
D) 40% to 50% of the sentence if the defendant were to be convicted.

Question 10

In which of the following cases did the Supreme Court limit the period of confinement to the time necessary to determine if the defendant could be returned to competence in the foreseeable future?

A) Jackson v. Indiana (1972).
B) Washington v. Harper (1990).
C) Sell v. United States (2003).
D) Ford v. Wainwright (1986).

Question 11

Competency to stand trial refers to the psychological state of the defendant:

A) at the time of the crime.
B) during pre-trial proceedings.
C) at the time of sentencing.
D) at the time of trial.

Question 12

CST refers to several types of functions a defendant should be able to perform. Which of the following is NOT one of these functions?

A) Understanding the charges against you.
B) Acting appropriately during the trial.
C) Ability to trust your prosecutor.
D) Ability to trust and communicate with your defense counsel.

Question 13

The Court's decision in the case of Morrow v. Maryland (1982) was:

A) a defendant found to be malingering may be given a longer sentence.
B) severe memory loss does not mean that a defendant should be ruled incompetent.
C) a defendant with a serious mental illness must be given multiple evaluations.
D) medications can be administered to a defendant against his will if he is malingering.

Question 14

In the case of _____, the Supreme Court held that separate psychological evaluations of competency to waive one's rights to counsel or plead guilty are not required once a defendant has been found competent to stand trial.

A) Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
B) United States v. Charters (1988)
C) Dusky v. United States (1960)
D) Godinez v. Moran (1993)

Question 15

In the case of Indiana v. Edwards (2008), the Supreme Court held that:

A) incompetent defendants could not be held without trial more than a reasonable amount of time.
B) a defendant could be medicated against his or her will without a court hearing.
C) there is a higher standard for a mentally ill individual to waive counsel than the CST standard.
D) the presence of mental disorder or intellectual disability is equated with incompetence.