tomoshenko
05-30-2007, 10:17 PM
CONCORD, N.H. -- Someone found mentally incompetent to stand trial in New Hampshire still may be competent to own guns, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court overturned a Concord District Court ruling in which a man was denied his weapons after being found mentally incompetent to stand trial on theft, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges for an outburst at Division of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Concord three years ago.
Scott Buchanan took the issue to court after authorities refused to give two guns back.
The court ruled the criteria for being found incompetent to stand trial were different from the legal standard for being declared mentally defective under federal law -- the standard by which gun ownership can be denied.
The high court directed Concord District Court to have another hearing to reconsider whether Buchanan meets the "mental defective" criteria.
The court ruled that a competency determination focuses on whether a defendant has a "rational and factual" understanding of a case and can reasonably assist in a defense. The state competency law does not, however, address the federal "mental defective" standards of whether a person is dangerous or unable to manage personal affairs, the court said.
"Because it appears the trial court ruled as a matter of law that 'adjudicated as a mental defective' means the same thing as incompetent to stand trial, we hold that it erred," the court ruled.
Buchanan was arrested Nov. 24, 2004, after a confrontation with a highway safety officer at the state DMV office in Concord.
Police seized a gun from Buchanan's car, and Buchanan later surrendered a second firearm as a result of a bail order while the charges were pending against him, Senior Assistant Attorney General Ann Rice told The Telegraph of Nashua.
The charges were dismissed after Buchanan was found incompetent to stand trial because of his excessive and unusual paranoia about police and government, according to court records.
The court overturned a Concord District Court ruling in which a man was denied his weapons after being found mentally incompetent to stand trial on theft, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest charges for an outburst at Division of Motor Vehicles headquarters in Concord three years ago.
Scott Buchanan took the issue to court after authorities refused to give two guns back.
The court ruled the criteria for being found incompetent to stand trial were different from the legal standard for being declared mentally defective under federal law -- the standard by which gun ownership can be denied.
The high court directed Concord District Court to have another hearing to reconsider whether Buchanan meets the "mental defective" criteria.
The court ruled that a competency determination focuses on whether a defendant has a "rational and factual" understanding of a case and can reasonably assist in a defense. The state competency law does not, however, address the federal "mental defective" standards of whether a person is dangerous or unable to manage personal affairs, the court said.
"Because it appears the trial court ruled as a matter of law that 'adjudicated as a mental defective' means the same thing as incompetent to stand trial, we hold that it erred," the court ruled.
Buchanan was arrested Nov. 24, 2004, after a confrontation with a highway safety officer at the state DMV office in Concord.
Police seized a gun from Buchanan's car, and Buchanan later surrendered a second firearm as a result of a bail order while the charges were pending against him, Senior Assistant Attorney General Ann Rice told The Telegraph of Nashua.
The charges were dismissed after Buchanan was found incompetent to stand trial because of his excessive and unusual paranoia about police and government, according to court records.