Fitness to Stand Trial

AuthorRichard D. Schneider
Pages49-85
g h
i j
 2
FITNESS TO
STAND TRIAL
[  ]
1
   a young man who had appeared before
me in the past had returned to the mental health court. His name
was Je Morrow. Yesterday he appeared before my colleague, Justice
Peter Harris. He was a polite, gentle man charged with assaulting
a police ocer. At the outset of the proceedings, he was screened
with respect to his tness to stand trial. This is a routine practice in
place to ensure that all accused are generally aware of their circum-
stances and are “t to stand trial.” As we discuss later, the tness
rules are in place to ensure fairness; that an accused is not just phys-
ically present, but mentally present as well.
The Crown turned to the slight young man in the prisoner’s box
and said, “This is Mr Morrow, isn’t it?”
Mr Morrow responded, “Yeah.”
“Yeah. How are you today?”
In a quiet soft-spoken voice, Mr Morrow responded, “Good. How
are you?”
Duty counsel then spoke: “Hi, Mr Morrow. I’m with duty coun-
sel. Is it all right if I ask you a few questions in court? Do you have
your own lawyer?”
“No, I don’t.”
“That’s okay. What’s duty counsel’s job in court?”
“Just to present the case.
“Okay. And what about the Crown attorney?”
“To present the case to the judge.

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT