Fitness to plead asks whether a defendant can take a meaningful part in their own trial. It concerns their condition now, at the point of trial, not their state of mind when the offence was allegedly committed. It is assessed against the Pritchard criteria, as restated in the trial judge’s direction approved by the Court of Appeal in R v M (John) [2003] EWCA Crim 3452: a defendant is unfit if the defence shows, on the balance of probabilities, that any one of the following is beyond their capabilities:
- understanding the charges;
- deciding whether to plead guilty or not;
- exercising the right to challenge jurors;
- instructing solicitors and counsel;
- following the course of the proceedings;
- giving evidence in their own defence.
The procedure in brief
The question is decided by the judge alone under section 4 of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964. To find a defendant unfit, the court must have the written or oral evidence of two or more registered medical practitioners, at least one approved under section 12 of the Mental Health Act 1983. If the defendant is found unfit, a jury then decides under section 4A whether they did the act charged. That is not a conviction. Where the jury finds that they did, the court may make a hospital order (with or without restrictions), a supervision order, or an absolute discharge.
Our assessments
Our experts assess fitness in prison, hospital, the community or remotely, and report on each limb of the test in the context of the particular trial. Every report also addresses whether the defendant has a mental disorder, whether any unfitness is likely to be remediable and over what period, and – because most defendants assessed turn out to be fit – what adjustments a fit but vulnerable defendant would need to participate effectively.
The full picture
Our Medical Director, Dr Nicholas Taylor, writes pritchardcriteria.uk, a detailed reference on the test and its procedure. It covers each of the six criteria, the case law, how particular conditions bear on fitness, the procedure and disposals, and what a good assessment involves.