Lester Paul Brown v. Warden, Great Meadow Correctional Facility

PIERCE, Circuit Judge:

In the absence of any indications to the contrary, a defendant charged with criminal behavior is presumed to be mentally competent to stand trial. However, once a defendant’s competency has been called into question, either by the defendant or the prosecution expressly raising the issue, or through the presence of “warning signals” which cause the court to raise the question sua sponte, the burden is placed on the prosecution to prove that the defendant is mentally competent to stand trial. 1 In this petition for a writ of habeas corpus the petitioner-appellant contends…