[2] Milton Dusky, a 33-year-old man, was charged with assisting in the kidnapping and rape of an underage female.

He clearly had schizophrenia but was found competent to stand trial and received a sentence of 45 years.

On petition of writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, the petitioner requested for his conviction to be reversed on the grounds that he was not competent to stand trial at the time of the proceeding.

Although the statutes addressing competency vary from state to state in the United States, the two elements outlined in the decision are held in common: Subsequently, in Godinez v. Moran (1993), the Supreme Court held that the competency standard for pleading guilty or waiving the right to counsel is the same as the competency standard for standing trial established in Dusky.

The majority opinion, authored by Breyer, noted, "In certain instances an individual may well be able to satisfy Dusky's mental competence standard, for he will be able to work with counsel at trial, yet at the same time he may be unable to carry out the basic tasks needed to present his own defense without the help of counsel."