Evaluating for Competence to Proceed in Juvenile Court: Findings with a Semi-Structured Interview

Juvenile competence to stand trial (or “competence to proceed”) has been shown to be vulnerable to cognitive impairments, mental illness, and very young age. States have usually defined juvenile competence by applying adult standards without allowing for the effects of normal childhood and adolescent development. Research on juvenile competence issues has usually been conducted with functional assessment instruments standardized on adult populations. This study implemented a semistructured interview written to allow for youthful vulnerabilities. Findings confirm earlieroutcomes for the effects of age and intelligence on competence capacities, and identify particular types of developmental psychopathology that may be associated with psycholegal deficits