Opinion
Case No. 3:13-cr-37
03-19-2013
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff, v. LASHAWNDA ROBINSON, Defendant.
ORDER FOR MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION
The above captioned case is before the Court for consideration of whether the Defendant is competent to assist in her own defense. Defendant's Counsel, Cheryll Bennett, has moved to have the Defendant evaluated for competency and sanity (doc.14). The Government has no objections.
Accordingly, the Court finds there is good cause to believe Defendant is not competent, and therefore finds, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4241(a), that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering her incompetent to the extent that she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings or to properly assist in her defense. The Court further finds that the Defendant has filed notice (doc. 14), in accordance with Rule 12.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, that the Defendant intends to assert the defense of insanity, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4242(a).
Therefore, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4247(b), the Court ORDERS that the Defendant be committed to the custody of the Attorney General of the United States for a period not to exceed thirty days for placement in a suitable facility to undergo an evaluation for determination of mental competency to stand trial pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §4241(a), and an evaluation to determine the existence of insanity at the time of the offense pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §4242(a). The mental health professional designated to conduct the examination shall file a prompt report with this Court pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §4247 (b) and (c).
Further, it is the Order of the Court that once the evaluation has been received, if necessary, a Pretrial Conference will be set for trial scheduling purposes.
DONE and ORDERED in Dayton, Ohio, this 19th day of August, 2012.
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Thomas M. Rose, Judge
United State District Court