Monday, April 18, 2011

In Re Christopher F. (Cal. Ct. App. - April 18, 2011)

There's a dispute as to whether Christopher F. is competent to assist his defense in juvenile proceedings accusing him of threatening to kill his high school dean.  The defense expert says that he may not be competent, noting that Christopher reads at a third grade level (remember:  he's in high school), his language functioning is at the retarded level, and his verbal performance was at the level of an eight-year-old.  But it's also undisputed that Christopher got a "B" in geometry, a "B" in world history, and a "D" in English.

Which says a lot about the malleability of expert testimony and/or the quality of our public schools.