Quimbee logo with url
From our private database of 14,500+ case briefs...

Indiana v. Edwards

United States Supreme Court
554 U.S. 164 (2008)

Facts

Edwards (defendant) wanted to present his own defense at trial. The state court held that Edwards was mentally competent to stand trial only if represented by a lawyer; he was mentally incompetent to represent himself. The Constitutional standard for mental competency to stand trial established in Dusky v. United States, 420 U.S. 162 (1960), is whether the defendant can rationally communicate with his lawyer to a reasonable degree and understand the proceedings. Edwards was represented by a lawyer at trial and convicted. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether the Constitution allows a state to require that a defendant be represented by a lawyer at trial if the defendant meets the Dusky standard for mental competency to stand trial.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)

Dissent (Scalia, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 97,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Vanderbilt, Berkeley, and the University of Illinois—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students. Read our student testimonials.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students. Read more about Quimbee.

Here's why 264,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 14,500 briefs, keyed to 196 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Here's why 264,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners not other law students.
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet.
  • 14,500 briefs - keyed to 196 casebooks.
  • Uniform format for every case brief.
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language.
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions.
  • Top-notch customer support.