Pre-Trial Evaluation of Court Referrals*

Abstract

This paper examines the current Canadian laws and psychiatric practice relating to the pre-trial evaluation of court referrals in a mental hospital. The purpose of evaluation is briefly discussed. The issue of fitness to stand trial is examined in detail and psychiatric criteria of unfitness reviewed and illustrated with brief descriptions of clinical cases. It is contended that motivation for defence may be crucial in determining the fitness or unfitness of the accused. Under the present laws a finding of unfitness leads to legal and psychiatric consequences which contain elements of potential injustice to the patient. The recommendations of the Chalke Committee to modify the legal procedure and to remove some of these difficulties are underlined. The paper concludes with a description of the actual process of assessment in the hospital, the writing and submission of psychiatric reports, the fate of such reports and problems commonly encountered in the pre-trial evaluation.