Prosecution Order For Mental Examination Of Capital Defendant
February 27th, 2014

 

The Related Issues section cites Centeno v. Superior Court for the proposition that a defendant must submit to an examination by a prosecution expert if the defendant places at issue the question of whether he is mentally retarded. (Centeno v. Superior Court (2004) 117 Cal. App. 4th 30.) Later California Supreme Court cases have severely limited and restricted the ability of the prosecution to obtain an order for an examination of the defendant. (Verdin v. Superior Court (2008) 43 Cal. 4th 1096; People v. Wallace (2008) 44 Cal. 4th 1032.) It is not clear that the prosecution may obtain such an order even in the context of a claim of mental retardation.


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