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17 - Decision-Making About Restoration of Defendants Who Are Incompetent to Stand Trial

from Part II - Pretrial Phase Decision-Making

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2024

By
Kirk Heilbrun  and
Heidi Zapotocky
Edited by
Monica K. Miller ,
Logan A. Yelderman ,
Matthew T. Huss  and
Jason A. Cantone
Monica K. Miller
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Reno
Logan A. Yelderman
Affiliation:
Prairie View A & M University, Texas
Matthew T. Huss
Affiliation:
Creighton University, Omaha
Jason A. Cantone
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
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Summary

This chapter addresses decision-making about the restoration of defendants who are adjudicated as incompetent to stand trial (IST) in an era in which there has been deemed a competency crisis that the number of impacted defendants has grown significantly. It describes the rationale for the importance of this topic and associated decisions, and provides the context for such decisions: hospital, jail, and outpatient. After reviewing the existing scientific literature on the frequency of restoration decisions and the duration and outcomes of relevant interventions, it describes a proposal for an approach to evaluating restorability that is more consistent with the available scientific evidence and a better fit for clinical and forensic practice. The chapter concludes with a more detailed discussion of both clinical and legal decisions in this area, elaborating on why this approach appears to offer a better fit for practice. Implications for future research, clinical and legal decision-making, and bias reduction are described.

Keywords

decision-makingincompetent to stand trial (IST)restorationrestorabilitydefendants
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Legal Decision-Making , pp. 259 - 273
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

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