Amanda Bynes Mentally Competent to Stand Trial for DUI Case, Judge Rules

A judge declares that the 'Easy A' actress is mentally stable enough to fully comprehend the nature of the legal proceedings.

After previously being absent, Amanda Bynes is now expected to show up in person the next time her DUI case is presented to a judge. Despite her lawyer's claim that the former child actress was mentally unfit to stand trial, a judge who evaluated her case at the mental health court ruled otherwise.

Bynes' DUI case stemmed from an early morning accident in April 2012 when she allegedly scraped a patrol car. She pled not guilty in June. The criminal proceedings were put on hold after her lawyer declared "a 1368 PC [Penal Code] hearing to declare a doubt to mental competency."

She was involved in a series of traffic violations last year, including two hit-and-run incidents which she later settled. She was also charged with driving on suspended license. She was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered by a judge to pay $300 in fines, after pleading no contest.

The former child actress, 27, was put on an involuntary 5150 psychiatric hold in July after setting a fire on a stranger's driveway near her family's home in Thousand Oaks, California. She was then placed in a long-term psychiatric treatment under a temporary conservatorship of her parents.

She is now seeking help in a rehab facility and expected to return home in time for Christmas. "Upon recommendation by the skilled healthcare professionals at UCLA Medical Center, Amanda is receiving specialized treatment in a private facility outside of Los Angeles. Amanda is making great strides towards recovery," her parents said in a statement.