A judge in the Essex Superior Court sided with Attorney Goldenberg and denied the Government motion to have her client independently evaluated by their forensic psychologist. Attorney Goldenberg’s client is charged with a serious crime but the criminal case has been stayed because he is not competent to stand trial due to mental illness. He has been in a locked hospital for years. Despite the hospital’s forensic psychologist continuing to maintain that the patient is not competent, the Commonwealth moved to have their own psychologist evaluate the patient. While the Commonwealth is permitted to conduct an independent evaluation, the Court agreed that without some showing that the competency determination might be in question, they should not be permitted to independently evaluate the patient.
