West Virginia Code 49-4-732 – Hearing to determine juvenile’s competency to participate in the proceedings
(a) Not more than 15 judicial days after receiving the evaluator’s report, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine the juvenile‘s competency to participate in the proceedings. The court may continue the hearing for good cause shown.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 49-4-732
- Court: means the circuit court of the county with jurisdiction of the case or the judge in vacation unless otherwise specifically provided. See West Virginia Code 49-1-207
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Juvenile: means any person under eighteen years of age or is a transitioning adult. See West Virginia Code 49-1-202
(b) The competency evaluation report is admissible as evidence in the competency proceedings. The qualified forensic evaluator may be called as a witness and is subject to cross examination by all parties. If authorized by the court, hearings held pursuant to this section may be conducted by or participated in using teleconference or video conference technology. If the court contacts the qualified forensic evaluator to obtain clarification of the report contents, the court shall promptly inform all parties and allow each party to participate in each contact.
(c) In determining the competency of the juvenile to participate in the proceedings, the court shall consider the content of all competency evaluation reports admitted as evidence. The court may consider additional evidence introduced at the hearing by the prosecuting attorney, the juvenile’s attorney, or guardian ad litem.
(d) (1) Except as otherwise provided, the court shall make a written determination as to the juvenile’s competency based on a preponderance of the evidence within 10 judicial days after completion of the hearing. The applicable burden of proof shall be as set forth in § 49-4-727 of this code.
(2) The court shall not find a juvenile competent to proceed solely because the juvenile is receiving or has received in-patient treatment or is receiving or has received psychotropic or other medication, even if the juvenile might become incompetent to proceed without that medication.