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The article discusses two legal cases related to civil commitment and competency to stand trial. In the first case, a federal prisoner challenged his indefinite civil commitment prior to release, but the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, stating that there was sufficient evidence to establish a causal nexus between the prisoner's mental condition and his dangerousness. In the second case, the North Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower courts, which declined to conduct a formal competency hearing for a defendant who attempted suicide, ruling that the trial court did not violate the Constitution or state statutes. These cases highlight the complexities and tensions involved in balancing individual rights and public safety in the legal system. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the case of Commonwealth v. Carson C., where a juvenile argued that his due process rights were violated when the judge denied his motion for a competency evaluation at arraignment. Topics include the facts of the case, the judge's decisions on the continuance motion and the petition for expungement, and the Supreme Judicial Court's ruling that the judge did not abuse his discretion and that due process protections were satisfied.