368
Opinion of the Court
of that right. The deep roots and fundamental character of the defendant's right not to stand trial when it is more likely than not that he lacks the capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against him or to communicate effectively with counsel mandate constitutional protection.
Finally, Oklahoma suggests that our decision in Addington v. Texas, 441 U. S. 418 (1979), in which we held that due process requires a clear and convincing standard of proof in an involuntary civil commitment proceeding, supports imposition of such a rule in competency proceedings. The argument is unpersuasive because commitment and competency proceedings address entirely different substantive issues. Although we have not had the opportunity to consider the outer limits of a State's authority to civilly commit an unwilling individual, O'Connor v. Donaldson, 422 U. S. 563, 573- 574 (1975), our decision in Donaldson makes clear that due process requires at a minimum a showing that the person is mentally ill and either poses a danger to himself or others or is incapable of "surviving safely in freedom," id., at 573- 576. The test for competence to stand trial, by contrast, is whether the defendant has the present ability to understand the charges against him and communicate effectively with defense counsel. Dusky v. United States, 362 U. S., at 402. Even if we were to uphold Oklahoma's imposition of the clear and convincing evidence rule in competency proceedings, the comparable standards in the two proceedings would not guarantee parallel results.24
More importantly, our decision today is in complete accord with the basis for our ruling in Addington. Both cases concern the proper protection of fundamental rights in circumstances in which the State proposes to take drastic action against an individual. The requirement that the grounds for civil commitment be shown by clear and convincing evidence
24 For example, a mentally retarded defendant accused of a nonviolent crime may be found incompetent to stand trial but not necessarily be subject to involuntary civil commitment.
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