Opinion ID: 2041427
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Can Potentially Incompetent Individuals be Committed to Uncertified Psychiatric Facilities?

Text: The crux of this second question posed is whether trial courts must fully comply with Rule 786.4 in situations like the one at bar, for 786.4 undeniably calls for commitment to an approved diagnostic facility certified by the department of mental health following a showing satisfying the trial court that defendant may be incompetent (MCLA 767.27a[3]; MSA 28.966[11] [3]) and that commitment for evaluation is warranted. We agree with appellee that the trial court judgment that psychiatric referral is necessary is a judgment that defendant may be incompetent to stand trial within MCLA 767.27a; MSA 28.966(11). [4] As a result, holding a show-cause hearing under Rule 786.4 is mandated. That the court actually thought defendant might be incompetent is further buttressed in the instant case by the fact that defendant was referred on subsequent occasions by the court to Recorder's Court Psychiatric Clinic. Certainly these referrals, all connected with the same proceedings, reflect a judicial conclusion, at the very least, that defendant might be incompetent to stand trial. We concur in the holding of the Court of Appeals: The court having raised the issue of defendant's competency to stand trial, was obligated to issue an order for the defendant to show cause why he should not be committed to an approved diagnostic facility for a psychiatric evaluation and to hold a hearing to determine the defendant's competency. 46 Mich App 562, 565. Accordingly, we answer the second question posed in the negative. The judgment of the trial court that psychiatric referral for evaluation of defendant's competency to stand trial was necessary was a judgment that defendant might be incompetent to stand trial. As a result, a show-cause hearing should have been held and, assuming the defendant advanced no compelling reasons why he should not be so committed, temporary commitment to a certified facility for psychiatric evaluation of competency should have been ordered under Rule 786.4.