Opinion ID: 2630520
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: post-sentencing competency hearing

Text: ¶ 37 After Arguelles attempted suicide by hanging in August 1998, the case was remanded to the district court for a hearing on Arguelles's competency to proceed. At a hearing on May 3, 1999, Arguelles said he could not remember the events of the charged crimes and stated, I know from what I read in the newspapers and stuff is what I know. Arguelles also said he could not remember events from the penalty phase proceedings. However, Arguelles still maintained that he knew he had committed the crimes and he wished to die for them. The district court ordered that Arguelles be evaluated by three psychiatrists and that conflict counsel be appointed to assist Arguelles with his desire to seek the death penalty, and with competency. Also at this hearing, Arguelles requested counsel to represent him during the competency proceedings. LDA attorneys Jim Bradshaw and Ken Brown were appointed months later and represented Arguelles throughout the competency hearing. ¶ 38 Prior to a May 30, 2000, competency hearing, three psychiatrists, Drs. Gardner, Kovnick, and Bigler, interviewed Arguelles, conducted neuropsychological tests, and analyzed his psychological and medical background. Drs. Gardner and Kovnick diagnosed Arguelles with an antisocial personality disorder, and Dr. Bigler found that Arguelles had suffered an acute brain injury from the suicide attempt. However, each doctor found that Arguelles had a sufficient present ability to consult with his attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and [a] rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him. ¶ 39 In interviews with Drs. Gardner and Kovnick, Arguelles stated that inmates and guards had put chemicals in his shampoo and toothpaste and had sent paint fumes into his cell. Neither doctor felt these thoughts rose to the level of delusion or paranoia, and neither felt they affected Arguelles's competency to consult with counsel or understand and make decisions regarding the proceedings. At the hearing, Arguelles testified about the incidents, and claimed that the inmates and guards were trying to make him actually incompetent or cause him to be found incompetent. Captain Jacobson, a corrections officer at the prison, testified that while he felt initially that Arguelles's claims of harassment were baseless, he later found bleach in Arguelles's shampoo and shampoo in Arguelles's toothpaste. He also stated that Arguelles was often taunted and ridiculed by other inmates. ¶ 40 At the competency hearing, Arguelles testified that he did not have a complete recollection of his earlier trial. He stated, I remember that I went in, I pleaded guilty.... I remember asking for the death sentence. Arguelles maintained that he wanted to die because [he] committed the crimes. He admitted that he and conflict counsel had disagreements with stuff. When told that his conflict counsel were vehemently opposed to the death penalty, Arguelles stated it was a problem only because he had not received paperwork he had requested from conflict counsel. At one point, Arguelles stated that counsel were trying to keep things from him. At the end of his testimony, Arguelles asked the judge to find him competent so that he would be able to get the sentence carried out. After Arguelles testified, each doctor asserted that they still thought Arguelles was competent. Following the hearing, the trial court found that the failure to remember some of the details of the prior proceedings and the potential conflict between Arguelles and conflict counsel did not outweigh the conclusions of the doctors, and the court declared Arguelles competent.