Federal Judiciary

Argument lineup in Indiana case

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

The Supreme Court, in a brief orders list Friday afternoon, agreed to allow the U.S. Solicitor General to take part in the argument on March 26 in Indiana v. Edwards (07-208)– testing the standard to be used on mental competency when an accused person seeks to act as his own lawyer at trial.  The federal government supports the state of Indiana and argues in its brief that a mentally ill defendant may be denied the right of self-representation “if the trial court determines through an appropriately particularized analysis that his conduct of the trial would frustrate important governmental interests.”

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on March 14, 2008 (boomark / email).