Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 4814
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 13 Sec. 4814
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to a section of the law shall mean the next preceding or following section. See
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: shall include any natural person, corporation, municipality, the State of Vermont or any department, agency, or subdivision of the State, and any partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
§ 4814. Order for examination of competency
(a) Any court before which a criminal prosecution is pending may order the Department of Mental Health to have the defendant examined by a psychiatrist at any time before, during, or after trial, and before final judgment in any of the following cases:
(1) [Repealed.]
(2) when the defendant, the State, or an attorney, guardian, or other person acting on behalf of the defendant raises before such court the issue of whether the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial for the alleged offense; or
(3) [Repealed.]
(4) when the court believes that there is doubt as to the defendant’s mental competency to be tried for the alleged offense.
(b) The order may be issued by the court on its own motion or on motion of the State, the defendant, or an attorney, guardian, or other person acting on behalf of the defendant.
(c) An order issued pursuant to this section or Rule 16.1 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure shall order the release of all relevant records to the examiner, including all juvenile and adult court, mental health, and other health records.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an examination ordered pursuant to subsection (a) of this section may be conducted by a doctoral-level psychologist trained in forensic psychology and licensed under 26 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 55. This subsection shall be repealed on July 1, 2024.
(e) After an initial competency determination, a court may order subsequent evaluations of a defendant to be performed by the Department of Mental Health only upon a showing of changed circumstances. In determining whether to order subsequent evaluations, the court shall consider a treating physician’s clinical evidence, if any, indicating that the defendant’s competency may have changed. This section shall not limit the parties’ abilities to secure their own evaluations voluntarily or under Vermont Rule of Criminal Procedure 16.1.
(f) The court may issue a warrant for the arrest of a defendant who, after receiving notice of an evaluation ordered under this section, fails to appear for the evaluation. (Added 1969, No. 20, § 1; amended 1973, No. 118, § 16, eff. Oct. 1, 1973; 1991, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 19; 2007, No. 15, § 22; 2023, No. 28, § 2, eff. July 1, 2023.)