Dusky Standard
Definition
The US Supreme Court's 1960 two-pronged test for competency to stand trial: sufficient present ability to consult with counsel with rational understanding, and rational and factual understanding of the proceedings.
- Established
- US Supreme Court, 1960
- Case
- Dusky v. United States
- Prong 1
- Ability to consult counsel with rational understanding
- Prong 2
- Rational and factual understanding of proceedings
Common questions
How does the Dusky standard differ from an assessment of general intelligence or mental illness?+
Dusky is function-specific: it asks whether the defendant can presently consult with counsel and understand the proceedings, not whether they have a diagnosed mental illness or low IQ. A person with a serious diagnosis can still be found competent if both prongs are met.
What happens if a defendant meets only one of the two Dusky prongs?+
Both prongs must be satisfied for a finding of competence to stand trial. Meeting only one, such as factual understanding of the charges without the rational ability to assist counsel, results in a finding of incompetence and typically leads to restoration treatment before trial can proceed.
Related terms
- BNSS § 367
- Provision of India's Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 governing court procedure when an accused person appears to be of unsound mind; cognitive...
- CP(MIP) Act 2003
- New Zealand Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act 2003, providing the statutory framework for fitness-to-stand-trial determinations and court-ordered treatment.
- FIT-R
- Fitness Interview Test-Revised; a structured competency assessment instrument developed for the Canadian criminal law framework, covering understanding of proceedings, consequences, and ability...
- Jackson V. Indiana (1972)
- US Supreme Court ruling that indefinite commitment of a defendant solely on the basis of incompetency violates due process if there is...
- MacCAT-CA
- MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Criminal Adjudication; a 22-item standardised instrument measuring Understanding, Reasoning, and Appreciation of the trial process, grounded in...
- Presser Test
- The Australian standard from R v. Presser (1958) setting out the cognitive capacities a defendant must possess to be fit to stand...
- Pritchard Criteria
- The 1836 English common-law criteria for fitness to plead, updated in R v. M (John) 2003 to include the ability to give...
- Restoration of Competency
- The treatment process, usually pharmacological (for psychotic illness) or educational (for knowledge-based deficits), through which an incompetent defendant is brought to competency...