Act No. 57 Page 1 of 1
2021
This act summary is provided for the convenience of the public and members of the General
Assembly. It is intended to provide a general summary of the act and may not be
exhaustive. It has been prepared by the staff of the Office of Legislative Counsel without
input from members of the General Assembly. It is not intended to aid in the interpretation
of legislation or to serve as a source of legislative intent.
Act No. 57 (S.3). Crimes and criminal procedures; competency to stand trial and
insanity defense
An act relating to competency to stand trial and insanity as a defense
This act makes several changes to criminal proceedings related to the insanity
defense and a criminal defendant’s competency to stand trial, including clarifying
that the court-ordered independent psychiatric examination may evaluate the
defendant’s competency or the defendant’s sanity, or both; clarifying that the
examination will be conducted either by a psychiatrist (if the person’s
incompetency or insanity is the result of a mental illness) or by a psychiatrist and
a psychologist (if the person’s incompetency or insanity is the result of a
developmental disability); requiring that an examination of the defendant’s sanity
only be undertaken if the defendant is first found competent to stand trial, unless
the defendant requests that the examinations occur concurrently; providing that
the defendant is entitled to be represented by counsel appointed from Vermont
Legal Aid at the commitment hearing and that the Department of Mental Health
(DMH) and, if applicable, the Department of Aging and Independent Living are
entitled to appear at the hearing and call witnesses; requiring that notice be
provided to the prosecutor and the crime victim if: (1) a defendant committed to
DMH custody is discharged from custody, is discharged to the community on an
order of nonhospitalization, or elopes from custody; or (2) DMH decides not to
seek continued treatment of the person; and permitting the prosecution to ask the
court to permit its own psychiatrist to examine the defendant when the court-
ordered examiner has found the defendant incompetent to stand trial. The act also
requires DMH and the Department of Corrections (DOC) to jointly submit to the
General Assembly an inventory and evaluation of those mental health services
provided by the entity that DOC contracts with for health care services and
requires DMH to convene the Forensic Care Working Group to report to the
General Assembly on issues related to the mental health care treatment of
criminal defendants.
Effective Date: July 1, 2021
VT LEG #356825 v.2


Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822
As Passed By the Senate -- Official: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822
As Passed By the Senate -- Unofficial: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Official: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822, 2-801
As Passed by Both House and Senate -- Unofficial: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822
As Enacted: 13-4816, 13-4820, 13-4822