Understanding Mental Health Defense in Georgia

Judges and prosecutors are often poorly informed about mental illness and unsympathetic to the obstacles faced by mentally ill defendants charged with a crime. Severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and manic depression can cause erratic behavior that law enforcement professionals and courts misinterpret as criminal intent. The deck is often stacked against mentally ill defendants in Georgia, but Marietta mental health defense lawyers Maddox Kilgore and Carlos Rodriguez can help. 

At Kilgore & Rodriguez, we have experience in handling mental health cases and a record of success in navigating the complexity of raising a mental health defense. We know the difficulties mental health issues present for families, and we provide skilled representation to secure the release of your loved one if they have been incarcerated.

The establishment of Drug and Mental Health Courts in an increasing number of jurisdictions is a positive development. A skilled mental health attorney can help defendants with severe addiction problems receive alternative sentencing that allows their addiction to be treated while still holding them accountable for their actions. We work with mental health professionals in our clients’ communities – Cobb County and larger metro Atlanta - to help mentally ill defendants achieve positive resolutions to their cases.

Mental Health Case Results

The Mental Competency Process

Mental illness, disease, or an injury can affect the mind make it difficult for a person to make sound decisions about their lives. The law assumes an adult is mentally competent until a court rules otherwise. In the context of criminal law, the courts often must determine whether a mentally ill defendant is competent to stand trial. 

Does a defendant have sufficient ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of understanding? Does he have a factual understanding of the proceedings against him? If competency is raised, the court will order a mental health professional at the Department of Behavioral Health to conduct an evaluation into the defendant’s competency. A report will be provided to the court and attorney for the defendant.

If the court finds that the defendant is NOT competent to stand trial, the court may order further evaluation to determine whether there is a substantial probability that the accused will attain mental competency in the foreseeable future. The court will retain jurisdiction and defendant will be transferred to custody of DHS. OCGA § 17-7-130(c).

If court does not find client is mentally incompetent to stand trial, the defendant can file a Notice of Special Plea of Mental Incompetency to Stand Trial. The State will then be entitled to a copy of the competency evaluation. OCGA 17-7-129. Defendant can then request a jury trial to determine his competency to stand trial. OCGA 17-7-130(b)(2).

If you have a mentally ill loved one who has been charged with a crime, Cobb County mental health defense attorneys Maddox Kilgore and Carlos Rodriguez have the experience and skills to help you through this process.

Insanity Defense – Understanding Your Options

If a mentally ill defendant has been deemed by the courts to be mentally competent to stand trial, an insanity defense may be an appropriate legal strategy. Insanity is an affirmative defense which addresses the defendant’s mental state at the time of the offense, not his mental competency to stand trial. Georgia recognizes two distinct ways a defendant can be legally insane and therefore not criminally responsible:

1. Lack of mentally capacity to distinguish between right and wrong in relation to the act, omission, or negligence.
   OCGA 16-3-2.
   OR

2. Because of a mental disease, injury, or congenital deficiency, defendant acted because of a delusional compulsion which overmastered his will to resist committing the crime. OCGA 16-3-3.

Insanity defenses require skilled mental health defense attorneys to be successful; the burden of proof falls on the defendant to prove by a preponderance of evidence that he was legally insane at the time of the offense – not the state to prove that he was sane. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, the defendant will be remanded to the custody of the Department of Behavioral Health where he will be evaluated, treated, and confined to a State Mental Hospital, often for many years, if not forever. Maddox and Carlos have worked closely with psychologists and administrators at State Mental Hospitals in Georgia and understand the forensic STEP system employed by the Department of Behavioral Health for the evaluation, treatment, and release of defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Whenever an insanity defense is interposed, jurors in Georgia also have the curious option of returning a verdict of GUILTY BUT MENTALLY ILL. However, a guilty but mentally ill verdict is legally indistinguishable from a verdict of GUILTY. In both instances the defendant is remanded to the Georgia Department of Corrections (state prison). Sadly, state prisons are not equipped to treat moderately or severely mentally ill patients. To the contrary, state prisons can be an incredibly dangerous place for those suffering from mental diseases such as schizophrenia or type 1 bi-polar disorder. Maddox and Carlos are strong advocates in mental health criminal cases. We believe that the mentally ill in the criminal justice system should be treated in a safe and secure environment (state mental hospital), not just warehoused in state prison.

What Our Clients Are Saying