San Antonio, TX asked in Criminal Law and Health Care Law for Texas

Q: If i am disabled and mentally incompetent at time of conviction can Anything be done .

I was forced to sign up. Please bargain and charged, but i'm not guilty And I'm mentally disabled. My family and I told them that I needed special disability court, but they did not comply at all

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1 Lawyer Answer
John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
Answered
  • Frisco, TX
  • Licensed in Texas

A: You can timely appeal on the basis that your plea was not entered into knowingly and voluntarily. You will need to establish through expert medical testimony. Mentally incompetent means lacking the ability at the time of your plea, based on reasonable medical judgment, to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision, including the significant benefits and harms of and reasonable alternatives to a proposed decision based upon a mental defect, illness, or condition.

Separate and apart from being mentally incompetent, if you were "forced" to enter a plea, you can challenge that your plea was made voluntarily. A classic example of duress is someone was pointing a gun at your head and told to sign it or they would shoot you. One common fact pattern that is clearly NOT duress (i.e. not being "forced" to do something) is being told that if you do not sign a plea, you will be found guilty and/or receive an even harsher punishment or consequence. That would be more a rational, logical cost-benefit analysis of your options.

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