Under what circumstances will a defendant be found competent to stand trial?

The fourth proposed modification was the addition of a new sentence to the instruction: "Competence to stand trial does not consist merely of passively observing the proceedings. Rather, it requires the mental acuity to see, hear and digest the evidence, the capacity to communicate with counsel in helping prepare an effective defense, and the ability to testify." The request was based on a passage from Odle v. Woodford (9th Cir. 2001) 238 F.3d 1084 that was taken out of context. The issue in Odle was whether the trial court erred in failing to conduct a competency hearing for Odle. The appellate court began by observing that a defendant may not be prosecuted while he or she is incompetent. (Id. at p. 1087.) The appellate court then observed that if there is a bona fide doubt about the defendant's competence, the "trial judge must satisfy himself that the defendant is able to understand the proceedings against him and assist counsel in preparing his defense. [Citations.]" (Ibid.) This standard is, of course, the standard in the federal courts and is consistent with the standard in California.