Mental Health Provisions (From The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984: Contemporary Federal Criminal Practice, V 1, P 61-145, 1988, B. James George, Jr. -- See NCJ-119239)

• NCJ Number: 119242
• Author(s): B J George Jr
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 85 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice Hall Law and Business
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Description
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter summarizes the constitutional issues involved in determining mental competency to undergo a Federal criminal trial and describes in detail the mental health provisions of the Federal Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 (CCCA), including section 401 of the CCCA, the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984.

Abstract

The CCCA includes tests for incompetency, including procedural incompetence, competence to plead guilty or nolo contendere, competence to waive counsel, competence at sentencing, and competence during appeal. Additionally, the statute outlines procedures for initiating incompetency issues, diagnostic commitments, and diagnostic reports as well as the determination of competency, commitment for treatment, and duration and termination of commitment. The Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 defines for the first time the criterion under which Federal defendants may plead nonresponsibility for Federal crimes based on abnormal mental condition. The procedural aspects of the nonresponsibility standard are discussed as well as the consequences of acquittal based on mental nonresponsibility. The statute also outlines mental procedures for determining the status of mentally-ill Federal prisoners. 583 footnotes.