What is the test for determining whether a defendant is competent to defend himself in court?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Duley, F077020 (Cal. App. 2020):

Here, the trial court expressed no doubt that defendant was competent to defend himself. To the contrary, the court suggested defendant's disruptive and unusual behavior was intended to thwart the orderly operations of the court and to delay sentencing. In this circumstance, the court was not required to take further action to evaluate defendant's competence or to deny his request for self-representation. (People v. Espinoza (2016) 1 Cal.5th 61, 80 [no error where trial court had no doubt regarding the defendant's competence and disbelieved the defendant's claimed lack of understanding of the proceedings].)

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