Can someone who is mentally impaired with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder be a witness in a criminal trial?
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Can someone who is mentally impaired with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder be a witness in a criminal trial?
My brother is currently incarcerated in the state of Mississippi for a crime that he did not commit. The star witness in this trial is schizophrenic and bipolar and has hallucinations often. How can that be the states key witness with this type of disorder. In his trial he was unable to let the jury know that this
witness has this disorder. How is that so?
Asked on May 20, 2019 under Criminal Law, Mississippi
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
A person with mental illness, even a serious one, can be a witness, as a person with dementia or Alzheimers can be, or a young child. However, their mental condition may be weighed by the jury, who may decide to not credit or believe their testimony. Anyone can be a witness, and the jury (or judge, if it's a non-jury or "bench" trial) decides how much and whether to believe them.
As to why he could not let the jury know this: we presume it's because he or his attorney did not properly introduce this fact or have evidence (e.g. medical records or a treating physician's testimony) to prove it. You can't just allege or claim something like that without credible and admissible evidence to support it.
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