My Background
My name is Justin Lillman, while I am currently in school to become a paralegal, I have a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from American Public University. I currently work for a law firm out of California that specializes in business, labor, and criminal law. The legal field is something I have been interested in since high school and one day plan to continue onto law school. While I can’t speak on if these answers are fully correct, these are my interpretations after taking many legal related classes and researching on my own time.
What goes into when a defendant has to be deemed competent for sentencing?
According to the justice.gov website determining whether someone is competent to stand trial the court has to see that the defendant has sufficient ability to consult with their attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding. Judges are able to order psychological evaluations as well as determine whether or not the defendant is deemed competent. Some of the things that can determine whether or not a defendant is competent are the ability to communicate with their defense counsel, being able to understand the gravity of the situation of their charges and potential penalties. There’s a bit more that has to go into determining competency, but those are the basics.
Qualifications to plead insanity?
Cornell Law describes a defendant being able to successfully plead insanity as having convincing and clear evidence that during the commission of the acts of offense that the defendant acted as a result of sever mental disease or defect and that they were not able to understand the nature and quality of their wrongful acts.
When lawyers say decisions have to be made in “sound mind” unless someone is clearly not do lawyers actually prevent the decision at the time?
According to the American Bar Organization should a lawyer think that their client is not sound of mind they can then use a period of time to reconsider to permit any improvement of circumstances or clarification. They can also elect to use powers of attorney, adult-protective agencies, and professional services to help with the situation. There are many other things lawyers can do to help assist someone who is not sound of mind, but those are the more helpful solutions an attorney can pursue.
For elderly, they can make changes in a will up until the day they die, is that ethical?
This one feels like a touchy answer, because to me it depends on the person who is doing the will. My answer is that it would have to be determined by the court should it end up in front of a judge. I feel like in some cases there can definitely be outside opinions guiding elderly people to make decisions to their will. Again, should a will be challenged, the court can call for witness statement and even depositions to help determine should the will be legitimate. So, overall, I do think it is ethical to allow someone to change their will up until the day they die since there are a few factors that go into determining their competency.
-Justin Lillman
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