A mother faces trial over the death of a newborn baby boy she allegedly left on an Adelaide driveway after giving birth to him in secret.
South Australian Supreme Court Justice John Sulan ruled today that Lara Daphne Ey, 22, was mentally competent enough to know it was wrong to leave the baby outside in the cold.
Ey allegedly gave birth in the toilet of her family home in Campbelltown in July 2008.
She allegedly then cleaned up, wrapped the baby in newspaper and placed him on the side of a neighbour's driveway where his body was found some hours later.
Lawyers for Ey, who has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, at first argued she was unable to instruct them properly because her IQ was so low, and was mentally unfit to stand trial.
But Justice Sulan said she was fit to stand trial, adding it was "not unique" for criminal defence lawyers to have difficulty getting clear instructions from a client.
Today he rejected their second application, that said she had been mentally incompetent to commit the offence itself.
Justice Sulan said Ey was not so intellectually disabled that she didn't have the ability to know it was wrong, despite being preoccupied by trying to hide the birth from her family.
Ey had passed units in a Certificate II in Community Services Work including one called "Ensure Children's Health and Safety", he said.
"I am satisfied that, in placing the baby in the driveway wrapped in newspaper, the defendant understood that a newborn required care."
The court was told she has since had another baby that has been taken from her care because of the criminal proceedings.
She will go to trial on November 5.
