Unfitness to Plead Consultation Responses - Law Commission ...

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My comments refer to the recent Consultation Paper ‘Unfitness to Plead’. I welcome that clarity is made in relation to a system ensuring a fair trail for potentially vulnerable individuals. However, I would like to raise a point with which I disagree: 1. Psychiatrists are the only professional group that is mentioned in relation to carrying out capacity assessments. Clinical Psychologists can and should be instructed to carry out such assessments. Whist Psychiatrists may be involved the Mental Capacity Act (2005) specifically mentions also Clinical Psychologists. I would like to argue that Clinical Psychologists are even better placed than Psychiatrist to carry out such as assessments for a variety of reasons: 1. Clinical Psychologists are routinely involved in assessing, formulating and treating mood and cognitive disturbances. These factors should be considered when assessing someone’s capacity more than their formal diagnosis. 2. Whilst Psychiatrist are involved in diagnosis and administering medical treatment, Clinical Psychologists are involved in formulating someone’s difficulties, taking into account a variety of sources of information, such as emotional, cognitive, cultural and psychosocial factors. These knowledge and skills base makes Clinical Psychologists a more suitable professional group in carrying out capacity assessments. 3. Clinical Psychologists are involved in carrying out comprehensive cognitive assessments (whilst Psychiatrists are not). For instance the judicial system routinely relies on Clinical Psychologists’ cognitive assessments to establish a diagnosis of Learning Disability, or to understand the severity of someone’s cognitive disturbance following a brain injury / degenerative condition. Test scores need to be carefully interpreted as a low score does not necessarily prevent someone from being capable of participating in the trail process. It is therefore important that a professional with appropriate training of the most widely used tests of cognitive functioning is asked to make sense of the findings. 4. Furthermore, Clinical Psychologists have more experience than Psychiatrists in supporting patients’ understanding of pros and cons when taking a decision. All steps need to taken in this sense according to the Mental Capacity Act (2005). 5. In summary, Clinical Psychologists are routinely involved in assessing patients’ capacity and Clinical Psychologists have a very strong knowledge and experience base to assess someone’s capacity. On one hand, this Consultation Paper appears to want to modernise the system in place, but on the other hand it does not seem to reflect that in practice a very large number of fitness to plead assessments are indeed already carried out by Clinical Psychologists. I believe that this new document should take the opportunity to clarify this point, to legitimise the expertise Clinical Psychologists bring into the judicial system, rather than Clinical Psychologists having to continue to be instructed under Common Law.
I am available for further discussions of the above points if you feel this is helpful. Thanks Yours sincerely Linda Monaci Clinical Neuropsychologist, Laurea, PgDip, C.Psychol., C.Sci., AFBPsS www.monaciconsultancy.com
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Unfitness to Plead Consultation Res
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CONSULTEES, LISTED ALPHABETICALLY A
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Sarkar, Sameer Searle, Geoff Sense
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o The UN Committee on the Rights of
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Rethinking the Criminal Responsibil
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asic competencies of young people a
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parliament to consider rather than
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preventing crime. Graham and Bowlin
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other areas of the law’ and this
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absolute minimum age of criminal re
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The views of the judiciary in the U
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all children who are alleged to hav
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39 Trevor Jones‘Public Opinion, P
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Charity No 1137430 Company No 60065
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Charity No 1137430 Company No 60065
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From: Bickle Andrew Sent: 10 Januar
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Comments on “Unfitness to Plead,
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8. It would be very easy to insert
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himself at trial. The Court did not
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-----Original Message----- From: Br
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Response The Society welcomes the o
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for the task in hand. This would ap
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1. Introduction “UNFITNESS TO PLE
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On the other hand, the so-called co
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The Law Commissioners, Steel House,
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Law Commission consultation on unfi
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could possibly mean that they take
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whether present at the time of the
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disposals. We consider that the ref
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difficulties may or may not be fit
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profession to treatment, the civil
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of the decision the accused must ma
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25. We consider that Provisional Pr
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Provisional Proposal 5: Decision-ma
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giving evidence, it is unlikely tha
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Provisional Proposal 7: A defined p
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42. The difficulty lies in that the
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envisages that there could be an ac
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Reply 50. We consider we have alrea
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Question 6: Are there circumstances
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uilds upon the disposal of the case
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determination of jurisdiction as ap
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age” in which term we include the
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The assumption that has been made i
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which the court is satisfied that t
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The current section 4A procedure re
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The CPS then re-reviews the case in
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cases, there should be a single tri
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magistrates/District Judges, keepin
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Law Commission Consultation paper N
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From: Enys Delmage Sent: 16 March 2
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for meaningful participation in the
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(7) A defined psychiatric test to a
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(13) In the event of a referral bac
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[Paragraph 6.153] N/A (5) Should a
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[Paragraph 8.68] YES (12) How far i
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Question 1: Do consultees agree tha
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Question 5: Should a jury be able t
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Question 7: Should an accused who i
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Question 9: Do consultees think tha
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Question 11 Do the matters raised i
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Summary of comments regarding propo
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4. Antoine probably reflects a reas
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succeed in doing so, but at the cos
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kept in a shared wardrobe at the ho
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acquittal save those arising from a
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From: Ernest Gralton Sent: 14 Decem
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then the Home Secretary, said that
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Law Commission Consultation Paper N
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Provisional Proposals 6 and 7 There
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Dear David, HHJ Wendy R. Joseph QC
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I totally agree that the test must
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Just for Kids Law: Response to the
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We agree with this approach for a r
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Provisional Proposal 6: Where a def
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Article 6 protection would also giv
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Question 6: Are there circumstances
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judges, politicians, advocates, and
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Appendix One GRISSO CRITERIA Thomas
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Justices’ Clerks’ Society Law C
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measures might have a beneficial im
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Question 9: Do consultees think tha
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Response to the Law Commission Cons
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liberating and immensely challengin
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However it is where these two areas
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Pearson was detained for three mont
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wholly agree with, focuses predomin
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Whilst this is a submission in rela
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SECTION 1 : KC RESPONSE TO PROVISIO
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Provisional Proposal 3: The legal t
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Provisional Proposal 5: Decision-ma
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that the defendant’s capacity is
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Question 2: Can consultees think of
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Provisional Proposal 8: The present
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Option 4 which looks at reform to m
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Question 5: Should a jury be able t
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Please note the exploitative scenar
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out in Crown, magistrate and youth
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In the case studies of Mr Y and Mr
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APPENDIX I Case Study: Mr A [This c
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unwell. Mr A was being seen every c
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APPENDIX II Case study: Mr Z [This
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sensitively. A lawyer was obtained
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elease accompanied by a nurse. Kids
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At this time, Mr O ceased engaging
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APPENDIX V MIND: STATICTICS: FACTSH
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per 100,000 in the general populati
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Prisoners and the Mental Health Act
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RESPONSE TO LAW COMMISSION CONSULTA
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3 Admission for treatment. (1) A pa
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(8) Do consultees think that the ca
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UNFITNESS TO PLEAD Response by the
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Example 3E UNFITNESS TO PLEAD Respo
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Page 260 and 261: UNFITNESS TO PLEAD Response by the
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Page 276 and 277: (1) understand the charges (2) be c
Page 278 and 279: Further, given that some clinicians
Page 280 and 281: In addition to the above proposals,
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Page 284 and 285: Response to the Consultation Paper
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Page 304 and 305: Our Comments We are not criminal pr
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Page 318 and 319: There is a real danger in conflatin
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Page 324 and 325: The group felt that many experts’
Page 326 and 327: Tel: Fitzwilliam College Fax: Cambr
Page 328 and 329: Unfitness to Plead: the place to fi
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Page 332 and 333: processes, and, indeed, on the comp
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Page 336 and 337: Law Commission Steel House 11 Tothi
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Page 340 and 341: Response to the Law Commission’s
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Page 348 and 349: I agree. There should be a test of
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In this case, it is being proposed
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Being able to ‘read’ The Sun or
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test, it may also begin to indicate
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subjected to the new provisions mus
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introduction, more than ten times t
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Response to Consultation paper 197,
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emand have significant personal cos
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Where possible an individual should
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epetition of evidence or the provis
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months, and are unlikely to refer b
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Question 12: How far if at all, doe
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Consultation Proposals Provisional
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agreement on the primary issue enga
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It would of course be concerning if
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witnesses who are commissioned to u
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PO BOX 3544 Wokingham, RG40 9FA T 0
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Response to Consultation Paper on U
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Unfitness to Plead Sense Response P
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- Congenitally deafblind children a
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The deafblind population has been s
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take up to 15 minutes to read a sho
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For example - A deafblind person C
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- Allowing the deafblind person to
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RESPONSE TO THE LAW COMMISSION CONS
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g. However, In some circumstances,
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QUESTION 9 Do consultees think that
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Obviously the judge should be guide
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Question 7: Should an accused who i
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problems which arose in B & others
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Page 4 of 4
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1. Introduction Victim Support is t
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In our view, a general difficulty w
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We are in support of this provision
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Preliminary Comments Dr Eileen Viza
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3 ‘developmental immaturity’ co
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PART 9 LIST OF PROVISIONAL PROPOSAL
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7 (9) If the accused is acquitted p
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9 (9) Do consultees think that if a
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11 Other References All Party Parli
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