ABSTRACT

W A. Drew Edmondson, Attorney General of Oklahorna, argued the cause for respondent. With hirn on the brief was Sandra D. Ho ward, Assistant Attorney General. *

JUSTICE STEVENS delivered the opinion of the Court. In Oklahoma the defendant in a criminal prosecution is

presumed to be competent to stand trial unless he proves his incompetence by clear and convincing evidence. Okla. Stat., Tit. 22, § 1175.4(B) (1991). Under that standard a defendant may be put to trial even though it is more likely than not that he is incompetent. The question we address in this case is whether the application of that standard to petitioner violated his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.