Competency to stand trial in family court: Characteristics of competent and incompetent juveniles

Competency to stand trial (CST) has been among the most thoroughly researched psycholegal issues in the past 20 years. However, little attention has been given to CST in juveniles facing delinquency or criminal proceedings. In a sample of 112 pretrial juvenile defendants undergoing court-ordered CST evaluations, 14 percent of the sample was judged incompetent to stand trial (IST). Sixty-one (55%) were considered to have one or more examiner-cited competency deficits that might lead the court to a finding of IST. Only age, intelligence level, and history of previous juvenile arrest differentiated competent from incompetent juveniles. Implications of the results for raising the CST issue in family or circuit courts are discussed as are suggestions for future research.