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Home » US Law » 2022 West Virginia Code » Chapter 27. Mentally Ill Persons » Article 6A. Competency and Criminal Responsibility of Persons Charged or Convicted of a Crime » §27-6A-4. Criminal Responsibility or Diminished Capacity Evaluation; Court Jurisdiction Over Persons Found Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Illness

(a) If the court of record finds, upon hearing evidence or representations of counsel for the defendant, that there is probable cause to believe that the defendants criminal responsibility or diminished capacity will be a significant factor in his or her defense, the court shall appoint a qualified forensic evaluator to conduct a forensic evaluation of the defendants state of mind at the time of the alleged offense. However, if a qualified forensic evaluator is of the opinion that the defendant is not competent to stand trial then no criminal responsibility or diminished capacity evaluation may be conducted. The forensic evaluation may not be conducted at a state inpatient mental health facility unless the defendant has been ordered to a mental health facility or state hospital in accordance with 27-6A-2(c) or 27-6A-3(f) or 27-6A-3(h) of this code. To the extent possible, qualified forensic evaluators who have conducted evaluations of competency under 27-6A-2(a) of this code, shall be used to evaluate criminal responsibility or diminished capacity under this subsection and all evaluations shall be performed consistent with the departments program standards and requirements for the reports.

(b) The court shall require the party making the motion for the evaluations, and other parties as the court considers appropriate, to provide to the qualified forensic evaluator appointed under subsection (a) of this section any information relevant to the evaluation within 10 business days of its evaluation order. The information shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) A copy of the warrant or indictment;