Presser Test
Definition
The Australian standard from R v. Presser (1958) setting out the cognitive capacities a defendant must possess to be fit to stand trial: understanding the nature and substance of the proceedings, the evidence, and the ability to instruct counsel.
- Origin case
- R v. Presser (1958)
- Jurisdiction
- Australia
- Assesses
- Fitness to stand trial
- Key capacities
- Understanding proceedings, evidence, instructing counsel
Common questions
How does the Presser test compare to the Dusky standard used in the United States?+
Both tests assess a defendant's cognitive capacity to understand the proceedings and assist their lawyer, and are broadly similar in substance, but Presser is the Australian formulation while Dusky v. United States is the American one, and each has developed its own body of case law refining the specific capacities assessed.
What happens if a defendant fails the Presser test?+
A defendant found unfit under the Presser criteria typically has the criminal proceedings against them adjourned or diverted, often into a treatment or supervision pathway, rather than being convicted or acquitted, until fitness is restored or a separate finding is made on the underlying facts.
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.
- Dusky Standard
- The US Supreme Court's 1960 two-pronged test for competency to stand trial: sufficient present ability to consult with counsel with rational understanding,...
- 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...
- 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...