In 30 years as a lawyer, retired public defender Wyatt Skaggs had known many defendants whose fitness for trial had to be evaluated. But most of the time, that only delays their day in court.

"It's very rare they are ruled not competent to proceed," he said.

Skaggs' experience is similar to most in the criminal justice system. Although mental evaluations are not uncommon, it's rare for the courts to decide a defendant is unfit for trial.

"It's not a particularly demanding standard," said Diane Courselle, a law professor at the University of Wyoming. "If they know the prosecutor is the one trying to put them in jail, the judge is the fair one, the defense attorney helps them, it's probably enough."

And despite some public perception, the number of defendants who successfully use an insanity defense is also rare.

"The standard is very high for sanity," said Dr. Cathy Buckwell, a forensic psychologist at Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston. "You really have to have a mental illness, but [also] be out of touch with reality and unable to control yourself at the time."

Over the past three years, staff members at the hospital conducted an average of 150 evaluations annually. A handful of high-profile Natrona County defendants have undergone such evaluations in the recent past.

Proceedings against Paul Howell, described as the ring leader of a group that robbed an Alcova bar and shot at police, stopped for several months last year as he underwent a pair of mental evaluations. He ultimately pleaded guilty to attempted murder after Skaggs, his attorney, conceded Howell was competent for trial.

More recently, proceedings against Donald Rolle, a Natrona County man charged with murdering a woman he once dated, halted last month after a judge ordered a mental evaluation. Rolle's trial had been set to begin today, but it's been tentatively pushed back to mid August.

Mental evaluations can be requested by either prosecutors, defense attorneys or the judge at any time in the proceedings. There are a number of reasons why an attorney might make such a request, Skaggs said.

An insanity plea automatically triggers an evaluation. A client who acts up or isn't following the advice of his attorney might also lead to a request, as would signs of mental illness.

The evaluations

Last year, Buckwell conducted 40 mental evaluations, mostly at jails or attorneys offices around the state. The process begins before she ever meets with the defendant. She might look over police reports and speak with attorneys or jailers.

The actual interview with the defendant takes two or three hours. She'll start by going over the person's background. Then she'll try to ascertain his current mental status.

From there, her questions will be directed toward the issue of competency.

Under Wyoming law, a defendant can't be tried or sentenced while, as a result of a mental illness or deficiency, he lacks the capacity to comprehend his position, understand the proceedings against him, rationally conduct a defense and cooperate with his counsel.

To help form her opinion on competency, Buckwell will ask a number of questions: Do you understand the role of the judge and the witnesses? What is your relationship with your attorney?

"If they are saying the judge and the prosecutor are sleeping together and are out to get me … they might not have a rational view," she said.

If a person's mental state at the time of the offense is at issue, she'll might ask about the events of that led up to it.

"Then we want to know, 'Did they understand right from wrong at the time?'" she said. "'Did they understand shooting someone is illegal?' 'Were they in touch with reality?'"

Buckwell considers more than solely whether the defendant knew right from wrong. She'll also be interested in whether he could control his actions. For example, a defendant might know killing someone is wrong, but was so compelled by a hallucination that he didn't have the ability to stop himself.

There are occasions where a defendant tries to fake a mental illness. But Dian Evans, a forensic psychology intern at the state hospital, says it's not easy for someone to beat the system.

"The evaluators, they see person after person," she said. "It is very difficult to keep feigning mental illness."

The court decides

When she's done with the interview, Buckwell will use outside information to compare with the information she received from the defendant himself.

"It is really important to get collateral information to assess whether [defendants] give you accurate information," she said.

When she's finished, she'll send her report to the court. But the ultimate decision rests with a judge.

If a judge rules the defendant competent, the proceedings resume. If not, a defendant might be sent to the state hospital for treatment, with the hope that one day he will be fit for trial.

Although it's very rare, there are people who never recover enough to resume legal proceedings, said David Grether, the hospital's criminal justice service program manager. When that happens, charges are sometimes dropped. In other instances, the court might try to have the person civilly committed.

As for insanity pleas, nationally only 0.1 percent of forensic evaluations led to a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness or deficiency, according to Evans.

For psychologists, it takes a special type of personality to conduct evaluations, Buckwell said. It requires an ability to be objective and to focus on the facts rather than treatment. The mind-set of a psychologist who performs evaluations is very different from one who performs therapy.

"You're like an investigator," she said. "But you are investigating someone's mental state."

Reach Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.