Amanda Bynes' Lawyer Says She's Unfit To Stand Trial

When Amanda Bynes was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold, she left a lot of unresolved messes that needed to be dealt with, most notably outstanding charges related to her numerous vehicular-related problems. Today, her attorney, Rich Hutton, appeared in front of a judge for the actress’ court date related to her driving under the influence arrest from August 2012, and during the proceedings, he told the judge his client doesn’t have the mental capacity to understand the charges facing her.

According to TMZ, the judge transferred the case to a separate mental health court. Down the road, a different judge will hold a hearing to determine whether she’s competent to stand trial. Given all of the recent problems Bynes has had over the past few months and how many times her psych hold has been extended, one would imagine she wouldn’t be found mentally fit, but technically, if she understood what she was doing was wrong, she could still be on the hook for what happened.

Bynes’ issues began to get noticed publically near the beginning of 2012. She was pulled over for driving under the influence and quickly caused a series of driving-related accidents. At first, it was assumed she was having vision problems or trouble paying attention, but after she started developing an obsession with plastic surgery and got kicked out of several apartment buildings, observers started to realize something more serious was wrong.

I’m all for people paying for their mistakes, but Bynes has far more important things to deal with right now. She clearly hasn’t been making wise and capable decisions for years now, and getting ordered to do community service or whatever is the last thing she needs. Hopefully, she can continue to make forward progress while inside and eventually be released into the care of her mother with the goal of ultimately building a nice life for herself, as she once had.

We’ll keep you updated on this case as it winds its way through the court system.