FITNESS AND COMPETENCE ISSUES IN CANADIAN CRIMINAL COURTS - ELUCIDATING THE STANDARDS FOR MENTAL-HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

The issue of competency arises at various stages of criminal proceedin gs in an effort to protect those individuals who are unable to partici pate in the legal process. The competency question is a legal issue ul timately decided by a judge. However, mental health professionals are often called upon to provide insight into an individual's level of com petence. To date, the standards by which an individual is found compet ent have remained far from clear. This creates a problem for clinician s who are requested to make competency evaluations. This article addre sses the competency issues as they arise at various stages of legal pr oceedings in order to determine the standards that are applied by the courts. Furthermore, given the importance placed on mental health eval uations of competency, the role of mental health practitioners will be addressed as it pertains to the competency question at each juncture in the criminal justice system.