Mental Health Defenses

The Three Times to Consider a Mental Health Defense

Mental Health defenses are extremely difficult to use in the defense of any criminal charge. However, many lawyers are not looking at cases closely for mental health issues that could move the needle towards the client's favor. Why? The complexity and lack of training in psychology and medical science.

Here is what you need to know:

Competency

If a client is not able to meaningfully participate in any criminal case, then the case must be put on hold until the client attains competency or it is determined that competency may never be attained. If someone is in that latter category, then this may take years and involve commitment to a treatment facility.

Although we are not psychologists or psychiatrists, a lawyer has a duty to determine if a client has a mental disability that impacts their ability to participate in the defense of the case. 

Insanity at the time of the offense

This is a type of defense known as “admit the act and win the case”. If successful, the judge has three options: a state treatment facility, release with legal supervision according to a treatment plan, or release with no requirement for treatment.

This defense is very difficult in some cases and relatively easy in others. Each case is different because the defense is fact specific to a higher degree than many other defenses.

Mitigation (reduction) of sentence

Florida uses a point based system designed to prevent judges from sentencing many people to anything other than jail or prison. However, one of the “departure grounds” from mandatory point based incarceration is mental health. A series of things have to be shown to the judge in order to permit a non-incarceration sentence. Once the judge legally can depart from the point system, the next test is whether the judge should depart.

The first way to use this defense against mandatory point based prison sentences is negotiations with the State prosecutor.

The second was to use this defense is with a “capped” or “open” plea to the court where a person pleads no contest and the case is set for a sentencing hearing to be held at a later date. 

See the podcast Mr. Cobb did with Elizabeth Kelley, Esq.: Neuroimaging in Criminal Cases