Mental Health Can Affect a Criminal Case in Ways That Are Not Always Visible From the Charge.

A criminal accusation tells only part of the story.

A defendant may have a history of mental illness, intellectual or developmental disability, traumatic brain injury, hospitalization, psychiatric treatment, medication, substance use, or other conditions relevant to what occurred or to the person's present ability to participate in the case.

These issues should neither be ignored nor automatically treated as an excuse for alleged criminal conduct.

Taylor Defense Firm examines whether mental-health or competency issues are legally and factually relevant and, when appropriate, how they should be documented and presented.

Competency concerns can arise at different stages of a criminal proceeding.

A defendant's condition may change because of psychiatric symptoms, cognitive problems, medication issues, deterioration while incarcerated, or other circumstances.

Raising a legitimate competency concern does not determine whether the defendant committed the charged offense and is not the same thing as asserting an insanity defense.

When information suggesting incompetency arises, Texas law provides procedures for the court to address whether the defendant is competent to proceed.

Competency generally concerns the defendant's present ability to participate in the criminal proceeding.

An insanity defense concerns the defendant's mental condition at the time of the alleged offense under a separate and demanding legal standard.

Mental illness, intoxication, unusual behavior, or a psychiatric diagnosis does not automatically establish an insanity defense or competency concerns.

Mental-health issues should be documented rather than reduced to general statements that someone has "mental-health problems."

Depending upon the case, the defense may seek or review:

• • Hospital and emergency department records
• • Psychiatric and mental-health treatment records
• • Medication records and pharmacy history
• • Prior evaluations and psychological assessments
• • Jail medical and mental-health records
• • School or developmental records where relevant
• • Disability-related records where relevant
• • Military or other treatment records where relevant and lawfully obtainable

Privacy, privilege, confidentiality, authorization, subpoena, and admissibility issues may apply to these records.

Police body-camera, jail, interview, or surveillance video may show a person behaving strangely, speaking irrationally, appearing confused, emotionally unstable, or failing to follow commands.

That behavior may be interpreted in different ways.

Depending upon the case, the defense may compare video with:

• • Medical records and medical history
• • Psychiatric history and prior treatment
• • Medication information and effects
• • Toxicology and substance effects
• • Witness observations
• • EMS records and emergency response
• • Hospital records from any treatment
• • Police descriptions in reports
• • Subsequent evaluations or assessments

The objective is to understand the evidence rather than assign a diagnosis from a video.

A person's condition may change while incarcerated.

The defense may need to communicate with family members, review jail records, investigate treatment and medication history, and determine whether a significant deterioration raises competency or other legal concerns.

When clinical questions are relevant to the criminal case, appropriate medical or mental-health records and qualified professional evaluation may provide information that cannot reliably be inferred from behavior alone.