How do you restore a defendant's competence?

With drugs. A competent defendant must be able to understand the proceedings against him and to cooperate with his lawyer, according to the 1960 Supreme Court decision in Dusky v. United States. Two experts have diagnosed Loughner as a schizophrenic, a condition that can prevent a defendant from meeting these criteria. When a defendant is ordered into a treatment program, he may receive some education about the trial process and talk therapy, but anti-psychotic drugs are by far the most common and most effective treatment.

If Loughner refuses to take the drugs—which have quite a few severe side effects, such as muscle spasms and blurred vision—the government could try to force the issue. One way would be to show that an unmedicated Loughner is a safety risk to himself or other inmates. The Supreme Court has also allowed the government to medicate incompetent defendants against their will if the feds can demonstrate four things: a compelling reason for medicating, a good chance the drugs will work, proof that the drugs are necessary, and a lack of other options. Involuntary medication doesn't always mean the inmate receives forced injections or has pills shoved down his throat; often he'll simply agree to take the drugs after a court rules that he must.



• Samantha Sais

The Tucson Padres return home for a big weekend of Memorial Day baseball fun at Kino Stadium. Tonight, you'll get a free Tucson Padres T-shirt if you're among the first 2,000 fans; On Saturday, you'll be treated to a fireworks spectacular after the game; on Sunday, you can bring your dogs out for Bark in the Park; and Monday is family night, which means your crew can get four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for low, low price of $20. Details here.

The Padres just wrapped up a road trip by splitting a double-header. Tim Hagerty of the Padres provides the following wrap-up:

Jon Leicester had an excellent start for the Padres in game one, throwing six innings and allowing only one run as the Padres beat the Storm Chasers 3-1. Leicester surrendered only two hits, the only two hits Omaha had in the opening game. Evan Scribner had two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 final inning to pick up his fourth save.

The Padres loaded the bases in the second inning and scored first on a wild pitch thrown by Jeremy Jeffress. Andy Parrino then hit a two-run double over the left fielder’s head, giving the Padres a three-run lead. Omaha added one when Jarrod Dyson, who had the Storm Chasers only two hits, doubled in the third.

The popular Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market on the corner of Speedway and Riverview boulevards is relocating next month to the Mercado San Agustin at 100 S. Avenida del Convento.

Organizers say the market needs more room due to a steady increase in vendors and visitors, and that the Mercado San Agustin offers more shelter from the elements.

I always marveled at how this farmers' market brought that barren gravel lot on Speedway Boulevard to life once a week. It will surely be a wonderful addition to the numerous things going on at Mercado San Agustin.

The market will officially open at the new location on Thursday, June 16.

The MooBella vending machine (currently distributed in the northeast part of the country) makes made-to-order real ice cream in a number of flavors in 40 seconds. If this machine was in the Tucson Weekly break room, I might weigh 400 pounds within a year. I am, however, willing to take that chance.

• Photo Ryn Gargulinski
• Tucson's desert heat and sun does wonders for saguaro, too.

Despite people warning me that if I moved to Tucson, within a matter of weeks, I’d look like an old leather shoe, I am still glad to say I have not seen any wrinkles.

It might help that my bathroom mirror is surrounded by 40-watt light bulbs. Or it could be that Tucson is a miraculous oasis for retaining youth and beauty. I prefer to believe the latter, which also explains why so many retirees flock here.

Tucson is the Western Fountain of Youth.

The weather is largely to thank, as Tucson’s sunshine puts people in a better mood than the gray skies of Saskatchewan or the grimy smog of Los Angeles. When you’re in a good mood, things are rosy, and a positive outlook can actually increase your lifespan.

Although Good Housekeeping says a positive outlook prolonging your life works best if you start the positive thinking when you’re very young, there’s no harm in crotchety old people attempting to improve their mood, outlook and lifespan, too.

Whenever unheard music by Rainer Ptacek is released the city of Tucson should declare some sort of city-wide holiday. A lot of Rainer's music is out of print, previously released on a strange assortment of European and/or extinct music labels, but thankfully English label Fire Records is planning on reissuing much of his catalog in the near future. However, for now, there's a "lost" release from the Rainer archives: a recording of Rainer playing with then-Giant Sand rhythm section Joey Burns and John Convertino from July and August of 1997, not long before the relapse of brain cancer set in that took his life in November of that year.

Roll Back the Years is the sort of record that shows off exactly what people liked about Rainer's music. Obviously he was a wildly talented guitar player, but he also just had a wonderful spirit, and that's something you could hear anytime he played. Ages ago when I worked at the long-gone Hear's Music on Campbell, I would tell people that if they didn't like Rainer's music, I questioned whether they liked music at all. In 2011, listening to Roll Back the Years, I still feel the same way.

[rainer.bandcamp.com]

Don't tell this woman that Scotty will likely end up on the mall opening and casino show circuit with other past American Idol winners not named Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson. Let her enjoy the moment.

[Buzzfeed]

• SAMANTHA SAIS
• Gary Knight, Newsweek photographer, lectures in the Magazine Photojournalism class at the UA School of Journalism.

Gary Knight, an international photojournalist and VII Photo Agency co-founder, is in Tucson to add his visual style, and those of his students, to the immigration discussion in the nation.

Knight, who is also the founding director of Tufts University Institute for Global Leadership Narrative and Documentary Practice Program, is in town to work with local members, students and alumni, of the National Association of Hispanic journalists - UA Student Chapter, the Society of Professional Journalists - UA Student Chapter, and the UA's Journalism Student Advisory Council.

Apparently, there might be as few as 50,000 koalas left in the wild. Not only is global warming an issue, but the koala population has also been ravaged by a variation of chlamydia. Gross and sad:

Every gum tree contains a koala, or so most Australians assume. But complacency could be killing off the emblematic native animal, according to scientists, who want it listed as an endangered species.

Already under pressure from habitat loss and disease, koalas now face a new threat: climate change. They cope poorly with the droughts and heatwaves that are expected to become more common in southern Australia in years to come. To make matters worse, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is reducing the nutrient content of eucalyptus leaves, their sole food source.

Scientists say koala numbers have already declined sharply in some areas, and they warn that unless more energetic conservation measures are taken, the mammal's viability could be in doubt. "This species is supposed to be common, yet it's slipping to extinction under our noses," Christine Hosking, a nature conservationist at the University of Queensland, said yesterday.

[The Independent]

On Saturday, May 28, a Harry Houdini-esque illusionist will perform at the Screening Room, 137 E. Congress St.

Michael Howell takes the stage from 7 to 9 p.m., with a night of magic and illusion. Howell is the 2006 runner-up as Arizona State Magician of the Year. The show is $17 for adults, and $7 for children 12 and younger. See the flier below for more details.