Competency to stand trial in family court: Characteristics of competent and incompetent juveniles

Competency to stand trial (CST) has been among the most thoroughly research ed psycholegal issues in the past 20 years. However, little attention has b een given to CST in juveniles facing delinquency or criminal proceedings. I n a sample of 112 pretrial juvenile defendants undergoing court-ordered CST evaluations, 14 percent of the sample was judged incompetent to stand tria l (IST). Sixty-one (55%) were considered to have one or more examiner-cited competency deficits that might lead the court to a finding of IST. Only ag e, intelligence level, and history of previous juvenile arrest differentiat ed competent from incompetent juveniles. Implications of the results for ra ising the CST issue in family or circuit courts are discussed as are sugges tions for future research.