ABSTRACT
Forensic psychiatrists may be called on to evaluate the capacities of criminal defendants to satisfy minimal criteria for the fulfillment of their roles as defendants. The criminal law is concerned with defendants’ capacities for two reasons. Historically, the first was preservation of the dignity of the law itself; it is unseemly to try, convict, or sentence someone who is unaware of what is happening to him or her or unable to participate in his or her prosecution. More recently, concerns have arisen about the fundamental fairness of criminal prosecutions and the protection of the rights of defendants, although the current trend away from individual rights and toward society’s rights has caused a significant erosion in many protections for defendants. This shift in the balance of power has resulted in an increase in the tension between the two goals, which is explored in more detail in the subsequent sections.
