Commonwealth v. Martin

This appeal raises the issue of the circumstances under which the question of a defendant’s competence to stand trial requires an evidentiary hearing pursuant to G. L. c. 123, § 15, as appearing in St. 1986, c. 599. Section 15(a) authorizes a court house examination of a defendant to be conducted by “one or more qualified physicians or psychologists” and § 15(c) provides that “[a]t the conclusion of the examination . . . [the examiner] shall forthwith give to the court written signed reports of . . . findings bearing on the issue of competence to stand trial.” Next, § 15(if) instructs that…