Just and Well: Rethinking How States Approach Competency to Stand Trial
The competency to stand trial process is designed to protect the rights of people who do not understand the charges against them and are unable to assist in their own defense. But across the country, this process has become increasingly overburdened and delayed, causing people to languish in jail while states contend with the high associated costs. Seeking solutions to these serious challenges, the organizational co-authors of this report gathered a group of national advisors to find a way forward. This report outlines the 10 most effective strategies state officials can pursue to improve the competency to stand trial process. Its recommendations represent a consensus view of what competency to stand trial should ideally look like.
Photo credit: Image by Rawpixel from Envato.
Hallie Fader-Towe and Ethan Kelly | October 2020 | The Council of State Government Justice Center, American Psychiatric Association Foundation, Judges and Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative
Just and Well: Rethinking How States Approach Competency to Stand Trial
Director of Justice and Health Initiatives, Behavioral Health
Hallie
Fader-Towe
works
with
local
and
state
policymakers
to
craft
policies,
processes,
and
programs
that
bring
research-informed
approaches
to
their
jurisdictions.
In
her
positions
with
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
she
has
worked
with
jurisdictions
around
the
country
on
collaborative,
data-driven
...
planning
and
implementation
efforts
to
address
criminal
justice
functions
from
initial
detention
through
reentry,
including
a
focus
on
people
with
mental
illnesses.
She
has
also
managed
the
development
of
training
materials
on
mental
health
courts
and
on
judicial
responses
to
the
prevalence
of
individuals
with
mental
illnesses
involved
with
the
criminal
justice
system.
She
has
written
on
court
case
processing,
competency
to
stand
trial,
dispute
systems
design
for
state
trial
courts,
pretrial
responses
to
people
with
mental
illnesses,
information
sharing
between
criminal
justice
and
mental
health
systems,
and
mental
health
court
design
and
implementation.
Before
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
she
was
a
management
consultant
with
McKinsey
&
Company
in
New
York.
Hallie
received
a
BA
from
Brown
University
and
a
JD
from
Harvard
Law
School.
Ethan
Kelly
provides
technical
assistance
to
grantees
working
with
people
who
have
co-occurring
substance
addictions
and
mental
illnesses
and
are
involved
in
the
criminal
justice
system.
Prior
to
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
Ethan
was
a
clinical
supervisor
and
trainer
...
for
behavioral
health/criminal
justice
programs,
managing
a
pretrial
mental
health
program
and
providing
trainings
on
mental
health,
critical
incident
stress
management,
and
criminogenic
risk.
He
earned
his
BSW
from
Southern
Connecticut
State
University
and
his
MSW
from
Fordham
University.