Most considerations of “criminal competency” are limited to questions of capacity to stand trial. Occasionally, issues of guilty pleas and ability to go pro se are also considered. And these are all critically important (and profoundly underconsidered). But there are multiple other questions of “criminal competency” that defense lawyers must know about and take seriously if they are to provide effective counsel. Also, within the general subject matter areas of trial and pro se status, there are embedded issues to which not nearly enough attention is paid.

Most considerations of “criminal competency” are limited to questions of capacity to stand trial. Occasionally, issues of guilty pleas and ability to go pro se are also considered. And these are all critically important (and profoundly underconsidered). But there are multiple other questions of “criminal competency” that defense lawyers must know about and take seriously if they are to provide effective counsel. Also, within the general subject matter areas of trial and pro se status, there are embedded issues to which not nearly enough attention is paid.

Panel from the 2020 Presidential Summit and Sentencing Symposium, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Law Center American Criminal Law Review

Amicus curiae brief of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in support of appellant.