Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

Hello, im stuck in a positon with no answers my little brother was arrested in feb of this year he has some mental problems adhd bipolar ect... now the courts psych doctor has found him compatant 2 stand trial which he is refusing trial..His public defender has got to bethe worst ive meet in my lifetime,he is giving us no answers to anything and has seen my brother 2 times since hes been incarcerated..My family and i have received numerous letters stating hes suicidal and ways hes thinking of killing himself as for phone calls aswell..I have made copies of these letters and gave them to his public defender who has taken no action in helping my brother nor trying to get him evaluated again for medication.. My question is what do i do or can i do to help his mental state since his lawyer is not helping in any way?? Ive made calls to the jail ect explaning whats going on and still nothing is being done. Do i wait for the phone call that im prob going to get stating he has killed himself?? As i can not do that i dont even know where to start to take action in getting some help with this matter.. Any advise or leds you can give me would be highly apprectated thankyou for your time and i hope i hear from you soon

Thankyou


Asked on 11/13/10, 11:45 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Timothy Linnins Linnins Law, PLLC

First, a person can be competent to stand trial and still have severe mental problems. Even severe depression and bipolar disorder might not be enough to establish that your brother cannot assist in his own defense or that he does not understand the proceedings. As far as your issues with the public defender, the attorney represents your brother and might not always be receptive to the questions of family members. Unfortuantely, your best option would be to hire a private attorney for your brother.

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Answered on 12/18/10, 8:49 pm


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