WEBVTT 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:27.960 Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to Food 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:29.739 for Thought. Thoughts if it were you. This is 00:00:29.739 --> 00:00:32.719 your host, Neogentrix. I know it's been a while 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:34.780 since I've come back and talked to you guys, 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:36.240 but a lot of stuff has happened over the last 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:38.140 couple of weeks, last couple of months, okay? 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:41.659 I'm sorry that I haven't released an episode 00:00:41.659 --> 00:00:43.659 in a while, but I'm planning to release about 00:00:43.659 --> 00:00:45.719 four of them in the next couple of days, if not 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.920 more. So please stick around, please. I thank 00:00:48.920 --> 00:00:50.979 you guys for hanging on and waiting for the next 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:54.710 episode. I'm still here. I'm still going. It's 00:00:54.710 --> 00:00:57.390 2019. Happy New Year, everybody. Let's get this 00:00:57.390 --> 00:00:59.789 ball rolling, even though I know the month of 00:00:59.789 --> 00:01:04.170 January is almost over. Now, before we get started, 00:01:04.409 --> 00:01:06.250 I just want to go ahead and pass off a little 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:08.530 bit of sad news. One of the things that kept 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:10.189 me from producing an episode for a while, and 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:11.950 it's still taking me a little bit longer to get 00:01:11.950 --> 00:01:15.510 over, is that my grandfather passed away last 00:01:15.510 --> 00:01:19.620 month, literally on the 19th, okay? winter break 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:21.599 has just started. I was going home to hang out 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.280 with my family and lo and behold, barely two 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:26.900 days after I got there, my mom gets a message 00:01:26.900 --> 00:01:29.959 that morning saying that my grandfather had passed 00:01:29.959 --> 00:01:34.120 away around midnight. So knowing that I haven't 00:01:34.120 --> 00:01:38.959 seen him since basically August last year, you 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:40.819 can imagine how much that tore me apart, especially 00:01:40.819 --> 00:01:42.620 since I was one of the few people that was really 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:48.090 close to him aside from my mom. One of the topics 00:01:48.090 --> 00:01:50.989 that I wanted to cover today, kind of in regards 00:01:50.989 --> 00:01:54.349 to that, is the difference between competency 00:01:54.349 --> 00:01:58.129 and sanity, okay? The reason I want to talk about 00:01:58.129 --> 00:02:00.670 this is because I want to make it known, or at 00:02:00.670 --> 00:02:05.510 least try to figure out if it's possible. Can 00:02:05.510 --> 00:02:09.210 you be competent but insane, or insane but competent, 00:02:09.430 --> 00:02:14.819 okay? In movies and books, the phrase not competent 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:18.939 to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:23.300 are thrown around quite frequently. But what 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:25.819 are the differences between competency and sanity? 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:28.360 Are they interchangeable? These are things that 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.000 I want you guys to think about, as is kind of 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.879 the whole point of this channel. First things 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:37.560 first, the answer to that question, are they 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:41.889 interchangeable? The answer is no. The two concepts 00:02:41.889 --> 00:02:44.069 play significantly different roles in court. 00:02:44.409 --> 00:02:48.330 Competency determines whether a defendant will 00:02:48.330 --> 00:02:51.189 be able to appear at trial and understand the 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:55.610 proceedings. Sanity determines whether a defendant 00:02:55.610 --> 00:02:58.990 will be held responsible for his criminal actions. 00:02:59.229 --> 00:03:03.490 Therefore, a defendant who is competent to stand 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:05.969 trial may nonetheless be found not guilty by 00:03:05.969 --> 00:03:09.789 reason of insanity. However, if a defendant is 00:03:09.789 --> 00:03:12.419 not... is found not competent to stand trial, 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:17.120 he will never be found guilty or not guilty, 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:19.699 for that matter, because no trial will be held 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:24.400 in the first place. I guess in layman's terms, 00:03:24.539 --> 00:03:29.520 how do I put this? You can be declared legally 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:33.060 competent and also legally insane, asked the 00:03:33.060 --> 00:03:36.819 Joker. Somehow he managed to pull that off. However, 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.479 you cannot be declared legally insane unless 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:46.259 you are also legally competent. So I'm going 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:48.580 to go into the basic differences between the 00:03:48.580 --> 00:03:51.960 two concepts and kind of give a definition of 00:03:51.960 --> 00:04:00.800 them and go a little more in depth in a few minutes. 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:02.919 So we're going to take a short break right here 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:25.589 real quick and we'll be right back. All right, 00:04:25.709 --> 00:04:29.730 guys, and we are back. Let's start with the basic 00:04:29.730 --> 00:04:31.709 difference between these two concepts. We're 00:04:31.709 --> 00:04:33.730 going to start with, we're going to do a definition 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:35.910 of one or the other, and then we're going to 00:04:35.910 --> 00:04:39.310 go a little more in depth with this, okay? So 00:04:39.310 --> 00:04:42.910 definition, first off, competency is determined 00:04:42.910 --> 00:04:46.449 by whether the defendant can understand the nature 00:04:46.449 --> 00:04:49.029 and consequences of criminal proceedings against 00:04:49.029 --> 00:04:55.850 him, specifically the Supreme Court. Have sufficient 00:04:55.850 --> 00:04:59.410 present ability to consult with his or her lawyer 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:01.709 with reasonable degree of rational understanding. 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:08.550 And two, he or she must have a rational as well 00:05:08.550 --> 00:05:12.829 as a factual understanding of the proceedings 00:05:12.829 --> 00:05:16.790 against him or her. Meanwhile, the definition 00:05:16.790 --> 00:05:20.689 of insanity varies between states and concerns 00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:23.470 the criminal acts allegedly committed by the 00:05:23.470 --> 00:05:26.410 defendant. For example, some states determine 00:05:26.410 --> 00:05:28.870 insanity by whether the defendant understood 00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:32.089 the nature and quality of his acts or did not 00:05:32.089 --> 00:05:35.689 know that his acts were wrong. Other states have 00:05:35.689 --> 00:05:38.470 different definitions. Some states do not have 00:05:38.470 --> 00:05:42.490 an insanity defense at all. And keep in mind, 00:05:42.529 --> 00:05:46.660 this is... Not exactly applicable to everybody, 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:50.180 as some states still side with the old rules 00:05:50.180 --> 00:05:52.620 from back when Andrew Jackson was president, 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:57.420 and they don't see minorities as equals, so they 00:05:57.420 --> 00:05:59.680 may or may not even side with the fact that the 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.199 client was insane. They may or may state that 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:06.600 he's guilty regardless because of his skin color 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.439 or her skin color, okay? The decision maker here 00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:16.740 is that... How do I put this? Basically, competency 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:20.139 is determined by the judge, and insanity is determined 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:25.060 by the jury, okay? This is all based on, you 00:06:25.060 --> 00:06:27.860 know, the timing of the termination when they 00:06:27.860 --> 00:06:29.879 figure it out. Competency is usually determined 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:33.220 before the beginning of the trial. However, insanity, 00:06:33.480 --> 00:06:35.600 on the other hand, is determined at the end of 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.439 the trial with the verdict, okay? Now, I can 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:41.360 understand this raising a few issues here, so... 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.819 Let's go ahead and go a little bit deeper. Competency 00:06:45.819 --> 00:06:50.220 can be raised as an issue by a party or based 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:52.259 on the judge's observations of the defendant. 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:55.060 If there is a reasonable basis to believe that 00:06:55.060 --> 00:07:04.040 competency is a issue, the court has an absolute 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:08.829 duty to order an evaluation. Based on the outcome 00:07:08.829 --> 00:07:11.410 of the evaluation, the judge will determine whether 00:07:11.410 --> 00:07:14.589 the defendant is competent to stand trial. Now, 00:07:14.629 --> 00:07:18.189 insanity, on the other hand, is an affirmative 00:07:18.189 --> 00:07:23.250 defense that must be pled by the defendant. Okay? 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:33.029 Source of law on this... How do I put this? The 00:07:33.029 --> 00:07:36.829 competency requirement arises from United States 00:07:36.829 --> 00:07:40.550 federal law as a guarantee under the due process 00:07:40.550 --> 00:07:45.750 clause of the Constitution. Meanwhile, the insanity 00:07:45.750 --> 00:07:48.250 defense is determined by state law and varied 00:07:48.250 --> 00:07:51.970 between states. So, some states do not have the 00:07:51.970 --> 00:07:54.069 insanity defense at all, but all states must 00:07:54.069 --> 00:07:57.790 consider competency because it's a matter of 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:04.189 constitutionality. Oh, you know what? Let's take 00:08:04.189 --> 00:08:08.230 a short break right here and I'll be right back. 00:08:33.929 --> 00:08:39.090 And we're back. Now, I took a second here to 00:08:39.090 --> 00:08:41.629 stop and think. Just because I have notes doesn't 00:08:41.629 --> 00:08:43.309 mean I know everything, so I still have to look 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:45.850 up some information. But when I made that last 00:08:45.850 --> 00:08:48.029 comment just now about the source of the law, 00:08:48.230 --> 00:08:52.230 it may be considered the time frame. Keep this 00:08:52.230 --> 00:08:55.009 in mind. When evaluating competency, the judge 00:08:55.009 --> 00:08:57.169 will consider the defendant's mental state at 00:08:57.169 --> 00:08:59.750 the time of the legal proceedings and trial. 00:08:59.870 --> 00:09:02.909 When evaluating insanity, however, the jury will 00:09:02.909 --> 00:09:04.909 consider the defendant's mental state at the 00:09:04.909 --> 00:09:08.509 time the alleged crime was committed, not so 00:09:08.509 --> 00:09:12.710 much his current presence in the courtroom. And, 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:16.610 you know, with that there are consequences. When 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:18.669 a defendant is found incompetent to stand trial, 00:09:18.830 --> 00:09:25.100 it merely causes a... How do I put it? A hiatus 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:30.159 in the criminal proceedings. In general, the 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.700 mentally ill defendant is expected to receive 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:35.980 treatment until he is deemed restored to competency, 00:09:36.220 --> 00:09:40.799 at which point the trial would then proceed. 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:45.720 Keep this in mind. In 1972, the Supreme Court 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:49.200 held the defendant deemed incompetent may not 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:55.450 be held for longer period than is reasonable 00:09:55.450 --> 00:09:59.570 to determine whether he or she will be able to 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:02.350 attain competency in the foreseeable future. 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:09.549 However, if a defendant is found insane, he will 00:10:09.549 --> 00:10:12.169 most likely be committed to a psychiatric ward 00:10:12.169 --> 00:10:21.720 or an insane asylum. Procedures vary depending 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:23.879 on the state. Like I mentioned before, some states 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:28.259 require a commitment hearing. Others do it automatically. 00:10:30.220 --> 00:10:32.879 Length of time of commitment also varies. Studies 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.580 show the defendant found not guilty by reason 00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:38.580 of insanity are likely to spend as much or more 00:10:38.580 --> 00:10:42.759 time confined to a psych ward as they would have 00:10:42.759 --> 00:10:47.450 if they had went to prison instead. For some 00:10:47.450 --> 00:10:50.149 places, especially racist states that still haven't 00:10:50.149 --> 00:10:54.470 gotten over their past issues, for them, the 00:10:54.470 --> 00:10:56.009 easiest thing they can do, if they can't send 00:10:56.009 --> 00:10:57.990 you to jail, they will send you to a psych ward. 00:10:58.250 --> 00:11:01.870 Alright? There are many different applications 00:11:01.870 --> 00:11:05.269 of this, too. Let's say that a husband is prone 00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:09.610 to violent psychotic episodes that last for a 00:11:09.610 --> 00:11:12.330 few hours, but that... when he is not experiencing 00:11:12.330 --> 00:11:14.889 an episode he thinks and acts fairly normal like 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:18.169 a regular human being for lack there of a better 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:21.409 word or whatever the hell normal is for a regular 00:11:21.409 --> 00:11:25.330 human being um he ends up killing his wife during 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:27.870 one of these episodes he would most likely be 00:11:27.870 --> 00:11:31.110 deemed competent to stand trial but also be acquitted 00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:34.129 by reason of insanity okay now let's consider 00:11:34.129 --> 00:11:36.250 a different solution that one was a bit harsh 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:40.690 i'm sorry uh Say that a wife has trouble understanding 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:43.289 her surroundings because of a hallucinatory mental 00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:47.710 illness, okay? Paranoid schizophrenic or something. 00:11:48.429 --> 00:11:50.909 I'm just giving an example. I don't know exactly 00:11:50.909 --> 00:11:53.889 what that is yet. I will do a podcast on it. 00:11:53.950 --> 00:12:00.250 Don't get me wrong. So, back on topic. She has 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:02.269 trouble understanding her surroundings because 00:12:02.269 --> 00:12:06.639 of a hallucinatory... mental illness and perpetually 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:09.840 believes that she is still in middle school for 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:15.000 whatever reason. One day, she finds out that 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:17.580 her husband cheated on her, gets angry, and then 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:26.299 kills him. At the beginning of the criminal proceedings, 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:30.519 she sincerely believes that the courtroom is 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:33.450 her middle school auditorium. That the proceedings 00:12:33.450 --> 00:12:39.889 are a homecoming dance or something. That the 00:12:39.889 --> 00:12:41.950 lawyers are students and that the judge is the 00:12:41.950 --> 00:12:44.350 principal. Which, now that you think about it, 00:12:44.389 --> 00:12:48.330 kind of does make sense. That aside, though. 00:12:48.389 --> 00:12:51.830 In this case, she would be deemed incompetent 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:57.720 to stand trial. Actually, as a side note... If 00:12:57.720 --> 00:12:59.700 the wife's case were to go on trial, she would 00:12:59.700 --> 00:13:02.320 probably be found guilty because her killing 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:04.759 had nothing to do with her mental illness. However, 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:08.379 she would never go to trial unless or until she's 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.980 deemed to have reached a competency level that 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:16.100 is suitable. Okay? Or at least they deem her 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:45.860 as human again. We're back. That is awesome. 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:49.559 Welcome back. All right. So continuing with the 00:13:49.559 --> 00:13:53.980 topic here, let me give you a quick disclaimer. 00:13:55.259 --> 00:13:59.419 Most of the information I've given you is just 00:13:59.419 --> 00:14:04.120 for informational purposes. It's not for the 00:14:04.120 --> 00:14:06.159 purpose of providing legal advice or anything. 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.659 You should still contact your attorney. to obtain 00:14:10.659 --> 00:14:12.980 advice with respect to any particular issues 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:18.399 or problems you have, okay? Use of this information 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:25.860 for whatever reason doesn't help you solve your 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:29.159 problems. If anything, it'll create a topic for 00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:31.940 you to talk about with your attorney to help 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.500 you solve any problems if you're having any psychiatric 00:14:34.500 --> 00:14:39.700 problems or such. You know, you want to get yourself 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:41.740 checked out, but I would recommend talking to 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:46.360 your attorney first, okay? All right, so with 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:51.159 that being said, both the topics, both the things, 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:58.320 competency and incompetency, sanity or insanity, 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:01.659 each serve a purpose. They have their own roles 00:15:01.659 --> 00:15:05.279 that they play, okay? It doesn't really matter 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.710 which is which. They're two completely different 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:16.710 things. It's the same with perseverance versus 00:15:16.710 --> 00:15:23.210 preservation. Preservation, sorry. They mean 00:15:23.210 --> 00:15:28.090 similar, but they're not the same things. Insanity 00:15:28.090 --> 00:15:33.330 is a mental illness of such severe nature. That 00:15:33.330 --> 00:15:35.830 a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality. 00:15:36.830 --> 00:15:41.090 They cannot conduct him or herself or their affairs 00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:45.590 due to psychosis or is subject to uncontrollable 00:15:45.590 --> 00:15:48.350 impulsive behavior. Like the woman who thought 00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:51.649 that the entire courtroom was her 8th grade class. 00:15:51.950 --> 00:15:57.929 The determining factor between each is pretty 00:15:57.929 --> 00:16:02.779 clear. To be clear... Insanity is a legal term 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:05.340 pertaining to a defendant's ability to determine 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:10.000 right from wrong when a crime is committed. And 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.480 based off of that definition, insanity is a concept 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:16.960 discussed in court. So to help distinguish guilt 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:22.080 from innocence if it's informed by mental health 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.539 professionals. But the term today is primarily 00:16:26.539 --> 00:16:33.000 legal. Psychological. So there's no insane diagnosis. 00:16:33.379 --> 00:16:36.379 Listed in the DSM. Keep that in mind. There's 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:40.460 no nervous breakdown either. But again. That's 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:50.360 another topic. So. Keep this in mind. When. Considering 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:54.899 these two topics. Especially when you go into 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:57.039 court. If the person that you're trying to condemn. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.019 Can even be condemned in the first place. That 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:02.360 way you're not wasting time and or money. Alright. 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:06.700 If the person's a psychopath. Then trying to 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:08.839 get him convicted. For something that he did. 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:11.960 For something to jail. Is probably going to be 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:13.779 a lot harder. Than trying to get him convicted. 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:17.720 And sent to an insane asylum. Okay. So with that. 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:21.019 This has been food for thought. Thoughts if it 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:25.400 were you. Competency versus incompetency. Sanity 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:30.259 versus insanity. This is your host, Neogentrix. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:33.000 I hope to hear from you guys again in the future, 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:35.180 and I thank you guys for listening. If you like 00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:36.880 my channel, feel free to subscribe on anchor 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:39.799 .fm forward slash neogentrix. Show your support 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.380 on the Facebook page, Patreon, and on Anchor. 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:45.180 You can subscribe on there. I'm also available 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:49.460 on Google Play and iTunes. So, enjoy the rest 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:51.680 of your day. I look forward to hearing from you 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.319 guys for the rest of the week.