Q: Can a person plead guilty after being found incompetent in court?
My sister plead guilty the first day she went to circuit court. A week or so earlier in District court, she was declared incompetent to stand trial. She had 3 different public defenders throughout her case in District and Circuit (2 in District, 1 in Circuit). The case began when cops came to question my sister over a criminal mischief allegation (no warrant but were let inside by our mom). The cop assaults my sister (in front of me and my mom) and then classically pile on assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, and other charges I have 2 questions however: 1) Can a District Court case progress into Circuit Court if the person was declared mentally incompetent at time of allegation by a psychiatrist? 2) Once in circuit court, can the defendant plead guilty after being found incompetent in District Court? The competency hearing was two weeks before the guilty plea was entered.
A: No. If she has previously been found incompetent to stand trial, the subsequent plea should be null and void.
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