When will a judge order a mental competency examination to determine whether a defendant is competent to plead guilty?

Similarly, the court should not proceed with sentence unless the defendant is mentally competent. Otherwise his right of allocution, Green v. United States, 365 U.S. 301, 81 S.Ct. 653, 5 L.Ed.2d 670 (1961), would be meaningless. If at the time of sentence the judge has reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant may not have a level of awareness sufficient to understand the nature of the proceeding or to exercise his right of allocution, the judge should not proceed until he is satisfied that the defendant has the requisite mental capacity. Anticipating that a study and determination of mental competency may be required even at this late stage in the proceedings, 4244 provides that it may be ordered at any time 'after arrest and prior to the imposition of sentence or prior to the expiration of any period of probation . . ..' (Emphasis supplied).

Here it does not appear that the court, at the time when appellant sought to plead guilty, had any reason to believe that the plea could not be voluntarily and intelligently entered. Saddler's answers to the court's Rule 11 inquiries, his demeanor and his testimony at the previous day's suppression hearing, all appeared to be rational and coherent. His prior narcotics addiction, standing alone, would not have rendered him incompetent to plead guilty, United States ex rel. Fitzgerald v. LaVallee, 461 F.2d 601, 602 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 885, 93 S.Ct. 921, 34 L.Ed.2d 142 (1972), absent evidence of irrational behavior. At the time of pleading the court apparently did not have any evidence of a history of mental illness. The request of appellant's counsel for an examination in 'aid of sentence' hardly indicated doubts as to his client's competency to enter his guilty plea; the request, on the contrary, was expressly made with a view to determining what type of sentence would be most suitable.