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Amnesia and Fitness for Trial

By Bill Theis

United States v. Rodney Andrews, No. 06-1448 (December 7, 2006): Mr. Andrews was examined and found fit to stand trial, even though he was suffering from amnesia that covered the time of the charged bank robbery. The courts, both at trial and on review, seemed to take as a given that Mr. Andrews was truly suffering from amnesia and was not malingering. The Seventh Circuit held that there was no abuse of discretion in refusing a second competency exam. The basic holding was that even though a defendant suffers from amnesia, it is still possible to be fit for trial, so long as the defendant understands the nature of the proceedings and can co-operate with counsel. How can one co-operate if suffering from amnesia?The Court set out several pertinent factors, most of which boil down to this: was the defendant able to present a defense, even though he could not remember anything about his activities at the time in question...continue to full post

Full post as published by Seventh Circuit Blog on December 12, 2006 (boomark / email).