California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Torres, B240978 (Cal. App. 2014):
532.) "'[T]rial courts should be cautious about making an incompetence finding without benefit of an expert evaluation, though the judge's own observations of the defendant's in-court behavior will also provide key support for an incompetence finding and should be expressly placed on the record.' [Citation.]" (Id. at pp. 530-531.) A trial judge who "has observed the defendant on numerous occasions" "'will often prove best able to make more fine-tuned mental capacity decisions, tailored to the individualized circumstances of a particular defendant.' [Citation.]" (Id. at pp. 531-532, quoting Indiana v. Edwards, supra, 554 U.S. at p. 177.)
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.