Deck 8: B: The Role of Mental Illness in Court

Question 1

What are three explanations proposed by Bland et al.(1990)for the high rates of mental illness in offender populations in Canada?

Answer 1

a.People with a mental illness are likely to be arrested at a disproportionately higher rate than those without a mental illness.
b.People with a mental illness are less successful in the commission of a crime and are therefore more likely to get caught.
c.People with a mental illness are more likely to plead guilty,perhaps due to lack of access to good legal representation or inability to understand the consequences of their plea.

Question 2

You have been hired by a Canadian lawyer to assess a defendant for competency to stand trial.As a first step,you have decided to conduct a competency screener.Describe the screener that you will use and justify your choice.

Answer 2

• Fitness Interview Test-Revised (FIT-R)
• developed to meet the fitness criteria outlined in the Canadian Criminal Code
• semi-structured interview
• assesses three psychological abilities as outlined in the Code:
a. understanding of the nature or object of the proceedings
b. understanding of the possible consequences of the proceedings
c. ability to communicate with counsel
Each response is rated on a 3-point scale, ranging from 0 (indicates no to little impairment) to 2 (indicates severe impairment). Once the interview is complete, the evaluator must make a decision regarding overall fitness. The final decision involves three stages: (1) determining the existence of a mental disorder, (2) determining the defendant's capacity regarding each of the three psychological abilities stated above, and (3) examining the previous information.

Question 3

In the context of a defendant found NCRMD,what are the four main criteria considered by courts and review boards when deciding a disposition? Explain the term capping and specify the consequence of capping for mentally ill offenders with respect to their dispositions.

Answer 3

-criteria considered when deciding on a disposition:
a.public safety
b.mental state of the defendant
c.reintegration of the defendant into society
d.other needs of the defendant (e.g.,treatment,etc.)
-capping: refers to a maximum period of time that a person with a mental illness can be affected by their disposition
-A consequence of capping is that the disposition period for a mentally ill offender cannot exceed the length of the prison term that would have been administered if he/she had received a standard guilty verdict.

Question 4

Name two of the three changes to legislation resulting from Brian's Law (Bill 68).

Question 5

What are the three dispositions that can be made following a finding of NCRMD?

Question 6

What is the relationship between recidivism rates and offenders with mental disorders,as studied by Rice and Harris (1992)?

Question 7

Peter is on trial for sexual assault.He claims he was in a blackout state due to consumption of two bottles of whisky.Based on the information in your text on intoxication and automatism,what type of disposition would Peter most likely get from a judge and why?

Question 8

Distinguish between noninsane automatism and insane automatism.Discuss what dispositions are associated with each,and what circumstances have been recognized by Canadian courts in cases of noninsane automatism.

Question 9

What are the four main objectives of mental health courts?

Question 10

What is the name of the current insanity defence in Canada? According to the Canadian Criminal Code,what are the criteria for insanity? Assuming you are the Crown prosecutor,identify two situations in which you may raise the issue of insanity.

Question 11

What changes to how defendants found NCRMD are dealt with were proposed in Bill C-54 early in 2013?