This topic contains a solution. Click here to go to the answer

Author Question: What is mental incompetency? What are some of the challenges in proving an individual is incompetent ... (Read 24 times)

rmenurse

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 513
What is mental incompetency? What are some of the challenges in proving an individual is incompetent or insane?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Explain the difference between voluntary and involuntary intoxication.
 
  What will be an ideal response?



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
Marked as best answer by a Subject Expert

Ashley I

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 344
Answer to Question 1

Answer: The lack of mental competence can be broken down into two categories that have relevance to criminal culpability; competency and sanity. Competency is a legal question that entails the ability to understand the nature of the charges and the ability to assist in a defense.
Discuss how it is determined, through the evaluation process, and how it is presented as a legal issue to the court, not a jury. Competence involves the mental status of an accused at the time of trial, and the issue may be raised by defense counsel, the prosecution, or the court. An accused who is incompetent to stand trial is usually referred to a course of treatment so that competency may be restored. The time limits for how long such treatment may be administered and how long an accused may be held are matters of state law. The treatment is required to be in the least restrictive environment considering the nature of the pending charge and the circumstances of the accused, such as whether he/she poses a danger to self or others. The issue of sanity focuses upon the state of mind the accused possessed at the time the act was committed. It is in the nature of an affirmative defense that raises the issue of whether or not the accused possessed the required criminal mental state at the time the act was committed. Unlike competence, insanity is a question of fact for a jury to determine. Compare and contrast the definitions from Black's Law Dictionary, the DSM IV, the review the disorders and categories of mental diseases and defects.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: The following must be in the answer:
a. There is a critical difference between the two.
b. Voluntary intoxication includes the voluntary ingestion, injection, or taking by any other means of any intoxicating liquor, drug, or other substance.
c. Involuntary intoxication is generally a result from the unknowing ingestion of an intoxicating substance.





 

Did you know?

Despite claims by manufacturers, the supplement known as Ginkgo biloba was shown in a study of more than 3,000 participants to be ineffective in reducing development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in older people.

Did you know?

Ether was used widely for surgeries but became less popular because of its flammability and its tendency to cause vomiting. In England, it was quickly replaced by chloroform, but this agent caused many deaths and lost popularity.

Did you know?

Prostaglandins were first isolated from human semen in Sweden in the 1930s. They were so named because the researcher thought that they came from the prostate gland. In fact, prostaglandins exist and are synthesized in almost every cell of the body.

Did you know?

Dogs have been used in studies to detect various cancers in human subjects. They have been trained to sniff breath samples from humans that were collected by having them breathe into special tubes. These people included 55 lung cancer patients, 31 breast cancer patients, and 83 cancer-free patients. The dogs detected 54 of the 55 lung cancer patients as having cancer, detected 28 of the 31 breast cancer patients, and gave only three false-positive results (detecting cancer in people who didn't have it).

Did you know?

Approximately one in three babies in the United States is now delivered by cesarean section. The number of cesarean sections in the United States has risen 46% since 1996.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library