The ability to hold a trial is known as the mental health fitness to hold a hearing. In any court trial, an offender is described as of unsound mind to stand a trial if he is mentally ill or in any case, the perpetrator is not in a position to comprehend why he is aligned in court or the reason of the proceeding contrary to his case, or even help in making the defense (Kaliski, 2006). The following information will be included in a comprehensive report regarding the mental fitness of the defendant and shall consist of:
The diagnosis of defendant mental health and explanation to how the medical examination shall be conducted, and the notion upon which the medical assessment facts are based on;
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
A brief report about the perpetrator mental disease or his physical ailment: how severe it is; and the view of his mental strength to stand trial. The report will also include to what level the disability has affected the defendant ability to comprehend the kind and reason to why he is being aligned in court or help in the drafting of his defense.
If by any chance the doctor medical reports indicate the perpetrator is physically unfit to hold a case trial due to his mental ill health, the report shall provide a possible opinion on how the defendant will gain his mental health by the end of one year. Also, the report shall contain the best course of treatment. If by any chance the person drafting the report is incapable of making or creating such inferences, the medical report shall define the reason. And therefore, the final report shall indicate the overall description about the kind of treatment that may be suitable, and at least controlled therapeutic treatment shall be incorporated in the treatment plan, since it’s an essential form of therapy that will help improve defendant mental health (Stevens, 2017).
The final report shall also include a warning, which shows how the information indicated in the report may cause detrimental health relapse to the defendant if by any chance this information is disclosed to the defendant. The doctor should serve as the source of supplement information since he shall conduct the medical assessment to determine if the defendant mental health is unfit to stand trial.
References
Kaliski, S. Z. (Ed.). (2006). Psycholegal Assessment in South Africa. Oxford University Press, USA.
Stevens, P. (2017). Ethical Issues Pertaining to Forensic Assessments in Mental Capacity Proceedings: Reflections from South Africa. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 24(4), 628-639.