The Issue Of Mental Competency

Risk for most people is an accepted part of everyday life e.g. catching a bus or walking to the shop etc... will carry some element of risk. Risk is associated with our health, safety, security, well being, employment, education, daily activities, using resources and equipment and community participation. Some adults such as those who are disabled or who are older are usually discouraged from taking risks with their budgeting, planning, employment and their daily living skills usually because people fear for their limitations or that they might hurt themselves or others. Everyone has the right to take risks and make

Risk is defined by the probability of injury, harm, loss or danger. We all take risks every day, and don’t even think about implications.

Negligence is when somebody has a duty of care and that duty is breached. Negligence is split into 3 parts.

The court deciphering between criminal negligence and recklessness. Criminal negligence being a person failing to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.

Negligence is carelessness amounting to the culpable breach of a duty, ie failure to do something that a reasonable person (ie an average

A person has acted negligently if he/she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. The hypothetical reasonable person provides an objective by which the conduct of others is judged. The law considers a variety of factors in determining whether a person has acted as the hypothetical reasonable person would have acted in a similar situation. These factors include the knowledge, experience, and perception of the person, the activity the person is engaging in, the physical characteristics of the person, and the circumstances surrounding the person’s actions.

The state of mind of the D is hugely important in assessing whether or not he is at fault. However, to be found guilty of most criminal offences (true crimes) both an AR and MR must be proved. The

luger illustrates that a person's overconfidence that they are not in danger of being harmed or killed in certain situations is a factor of someone evading the idea of risk. In one of his examples, Kluger explains that a human being having an "optimism bias" toward their own driving prowess has little effect to the amount of danger they are in once they are on the road. Despite having confidence to drive on the freeway, there's a chance that they might be at risk of being in an accident. Confidence in one's own abilities conceals the potential risks of being in

In the United States our legal system makes it a priority that every individual is given a fair trial and that their due process is never violated. Issues such as competency can affect the course of a trial and make a trial more difficult to get through. Competency can extend a trial and make it more complex. It is the job of a mental health professional to assess competency and deliver their findings to the judge for further action. Competency is a very large part of our judicial system because without it, an individual cannot have a fair trial.

In the film Dead Poets Society, there are many examples of the idea there is a time for daring and a time for caution. First of all, when Knox was at the party with Chris, he drank some alcohol, and it influenced his decisions. Instead of being conservative like he usually was, Knox decided to make a move on Chris and he kissed her on the forehead. When Chet, Chris’ boyfriend, found out about this, he pinned Knox down onto the ground and started beating him up, which may have progressively gotten worse if Chris didn’t step in to stop it. Because the situation could have easily been avoided by just not making a move, the was a time for caution instead of a time for daring.

First we will define each. Mens rea is latin for mental element. A fundamental principle of Criminal Law is that a crime consists of both a mental and a physical element. Mens rea, a person's awareness of the fact that his or her conduct is criminal, is the mental element, and actus reus, the act itself, is the physical element (Legal Dictionary, n.d). An example of this would be the current investigation and decision by the FBI not to prosecute Hillary Clinton because the FBI concludes Hillary Clinton did not mean to violate the law when she used her personal server to send out confidential emails.

I do not think it is practical for us to take actions without regard for the outcome. I find that we always have to take account of the plausible consequences in whether we do. We must take responsibility for our actions, whether it be positive or negative, as our actions hold a weight to them. We must be aware of how our actions may affect ourselves and those around us. In addition, forethought is important to minimize risks for a desired goal. I believe that simply acting without any forethought is a fool hearted decision.

The law to recklessness has developed and changed over a very long time and for much of this time the two types of recklessness have been Cunningham Recklessness and Caldwell recklessness , however this has recently changed. In this essay I am going to talk about the history of recklessness, how the case of R v G and another 2003 has affected it and the proposals for reform which were considered as a result of the case.

Retaining the risk: recognizing the danger yet making no move, either in light of the fact that the danger is not that extraordinary regarding probability or in light of the fact that there is no methods to deal with it.

Risk can be defined as “The possibility of a (negative) event occurring”. Risk and uncertainty go hand in hand. When you are certain about something that you do then there is less or no risk involved. There is more risk when there is uncertainty about a particular outcome and you still go for it.