Opinion ID: 1441974
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: General Standards of Competency.

Text: We begin with the unassailable proposition that a defendant found to be incompetent to stand trial may not be tried, convicted or sentenced so long as the incompetency continues. [48] And the General Assembly has defined incompetent to stand trial to mean that a defendant is incompetent if, as a result of mental condition, [the defendant lacks the] capacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of the proceedings against one or to participate rationally in one's own defense[.] [49] Although it recognized that each state could adopt a more stringent standard, the United States Supreme Court has reject[ed] the notion that competence to plead guilty or to waive the right to counsel must be measured by a standard that is higher than (or even different from) the standard normally used to determine if a defendant is competent to stand trial. [50] A competency determination is based on the preponderance of the evidence standard. [51] We may disturb a trial court's competency determination only if the trial court's decision is clearly erroneous ( i.e., not supported by substantial evidence). [52]