Mute by Visitation of God, Competency to Stand Trial and Fitness to Plead.

Abstract

Laws on competency to stand trial and fitness to plead are said to derive from "mute by visitation of God," a medieval English legal term referring to the inability to speak through no fault of one's own. The paper describes the relevant historical background, illustrative cases, and legal commentaries. Muteness by visitation of God arose to address a particular set of difficulties caused by the need to have medieval defendants agree to be tried. Competency to stand trial and fitness to plead, on the other hand, arose to address more general and enduring concerns, that putting people on trial when they were unable to understand or participate compromised the dignity and fairness of criminal proceedings. The origins of competency to stand trial and fitness to plead do not lie in medieval English attempts to persuade silent defendants to speak. They warrant their own historical exegesis.