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''Cooper v. Oklahoma'', , was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court reversed an Oklahoma court decision holding that a defendant is presumed to be competent to stand trial unless he proves otherwise by the second highest legal standard of proof, that of clear and convincing evidence, ruling that to be unconstitutional. The court said the defendant's Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process were violated.〔 〕 In this case, the defendant's ability to understand the charges against him and his ability to assist in his own defense was challenged on five separate occasions before and during his trial and sentencing for capital murder, but the trial judge ruled he was competent to stand trial because he did not meet Oklahoma's high standard of proof.〔 〕 ==Circumstances== Byron Keith Cooper was charged in 1989 with the murder of an 86-year-old man while in the course of committing burglary. Both before and during his trial, the question of his competency to stand trial was raised five times. The first time the question arose, the trial judge relied on the opinion of a state psychologist in determining to commit the defendant to a state psychiatric hospital for three months of treatment. Upon Cooper's return, the trial judge heard testimony from two state psychologists regarding Cooper's competence, but as these experts disagreed over whether Cooper was competent to stand trial, the judge decided to rule against Cooper and ordered the trial to proceed. After the pretrial hearing was completed, the defense attorney raised the issue of Cooper's competence a third time, telling the court that Cooper's behavior was "odd" and that he refused to communicate with his attorney. The attorney said that it could be a serious matter "if he's not faking". However, the judge declined to review his earlier decision that Cooper was competent to proceed.〔 On the first day of trial, Cooper's bizarre behavior (such as fleeing from his defense attorney, refusing to change his prison clothes because regular clothes "burned" him, and talking to himself while in the fetal position) induced the court to conduct a further competency hearing. This time the trial judge observed Cooper and heard testimony from people including lay witnesses, defendant Cooper, and a third psychologist who concluded that Cooper was incompetent. While expressing his uncertainty and not disagreeing with the psychologist, the judge ruled against Cooper and ordered the trial to proceed, finally opining: The trial proceeded with Cooper continuing to act in a bizarre manner and refusing to be near his attorney. Cooper was convicted of first degree murder, and during the sentencing phase of the trial the history of Cooper's childhood abuse was recounted. Finally the defense attorney pleaded for either a mistrial or further evaluation into Cooper's competence, describing Cooper's courtroom behavior: The court summarily denied the motion. Cooper received the death penalty after the jury recommended death.〔 Cooper appealed, and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed both the conviction and the sentence. Cooper appealed to the Supreme Court on a writ of certiorari. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cooper v. Oklahoma」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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