Homelessness and Competency to Stand Trial: Understanding the Intersections Between Mental Illness, Substance Abuse, and Criminalization in Competency Outcomes.

Competency to stand trial (CST) is a due process right guaranteed by the 14th amendment. As a result of the Supreme Court Case Dusky v. United States (1960), CST is defined as a defendant’s abilities to rationally and factually understand trial proceedings, as well as consult with their attorney. Individuals who are mentally ill are more likely to be incompetent to stand trial and are more likely to be referred for evaluations to determine if they are competent or incompetent to stand trial. The escalating increase for referrals on competency to stand trial (CST) evaluations has impacted the process of legal proceedings and due process rights in many states, potentially including, potentially, Indiana. One hypothesized contributing factor to the national competency crisis is the association between homelessness and CST referrals. The relation of homelessness and competency could be attributed to a variety of factors include: substance abuse, mental illness, and criminalization of poverty. Our study aims to investigate the relationship between homelessness, CST referrals, and CST evaluation outcomes. Using the Odyssey Public System, we had a population of over 4000 CST evaluations. We sampled 150 of these evaluations for the current research question. Using mycase.in.gov, additional data about the case (including specific charges, whether the defendant was homelessness, and outcome of CST and those cases) was coded by student research assistants. This poster will review the background of this growing problem and identify how many (CST) evaluations in Indiana involve homeless individuals and the outcomes of those cases

Neither fair nor speedy?: An evaluation of Indiana\u27s competency to stand trial process during Covid-19

The national increase of competency to stand trial (CST) referrals has contributed to delays in legal proceedings, hindrance of due process rights, and class action lawsuits. The state of Indiana previously did not have best practice standards regarding timeliness in completing CST evaluations. The current study used archival data from Odyssey Public Access to investigate Indiana court’s handling of the increasing demand for CST evaluations and the process of referral during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results of this study elucidate that the state of Indiana is not operating according to other states’ best practice standards. However, the current study concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic did not significantly increase the time to complete CST evaluations. This research sheds further light on the future of CST referrals and evaluations during an endemic

Race and Gender Bias in Competency to Stand Trial Evaluations

Competency to stand trial (CST) is a due process right guaranteed by the 14th amendment. As a result of the Supreme Court Case Dusky v. United States (1960), CST is defined as a defendant’s abilities to rationally and factually understand trial proceedings, as well as consult with their attorney. Psycho-legal scholars suggest that the United States has entered a “competency crisis”—defined by increasing orders for CST evaluations, an increased finding of incompetency, and delays in CST evaluations and restoration services. The escalating increase for referrals on CST evaluations has impacted the process of legal proceedings and due process rights in many states, potentially including Indiana. CST has been the most common type of evaluation within forensic psychology, and there have been numerous articles investigating potential racial and gender bias in CST referrals, reports, and outcomes (Cooper & Zapf, 2003; Dirks-Linhorst, 2018; Judd & Parker, 2018; Kois, et al., 2012; MacCallum, et al., 2015, Paradis, et al., 2016; Pierelli, et al., 2011, among others). Previous research suggests that within CST cases in the U.S., race/ethnicity and gender did not predict CST referrals or outcomes. Utilizing archival data collection of over 4000 CST cases in a Midwestern state between 2018 and 2021, this study will attempt to replicate these prior findings, as well as, investigate whether an interaction effect exists between race or gender and offense type in CST outcomes, and identify whether racial minorities have experienced longer delays in CST evaluations than their white counterparts