Administration of Justice Bulletin #2025/06

Chapter 15A, sections 1001 through 1009 of the North Carolina General Statutes contain the basic standards and procedures for determining the competency, or capacity to proceed, of defendants in criminal cases. These provisions deal with the three main phases of the capacity-to-proceed process: a mental health examination; a hearing to determine capacity; and proceedings after a determination of incapacity—that is, involuntary commitment and disposition of the criminal case. This bulletin covers these three phases. 

Making this area of law more complicated is the interrelationship between the criminal process for determining capacity under G.S. Chapter 15A and the involuntary commitment process under G.S. Chapter 122C. The bulletin reviews commitment law and procedure where pertinent to defendants found incapable to proceed, sometimes referred to as ITP commitments. 

Also addressed are the topics of capacity restoration, process delays, and capacity assessments in juvenile cases. Where pertinent, the bulletin discusses significant statutory changes to the capacity and commitment process.