Opinion ID: 1387354
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Presentence Mental Health Examination

Text: Before sentencing, defendant asked the court to appoint Michael Bayless, Ph.D., to assist him in exploring possible mitigating circumstances. The state objected, arguing that there was no reason for a mental health examination and further that defendant was not entitled to a psychologist of his choice. The trial court denied the request, stating that no cause for such an examination existed at that time. Defendant based his motion largely on Michelle's testimony that defendant had told her that he used drugs sometime before the murder, thus purportedly calling into question defendant's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. See A.R.S. § 13-703(G)(1) (1989). Rule 26.5, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, provides, At any time before sentence is pronounced, the court may order the defendant to undergo mental health examination or diagnostic evaluation. Generally speaking, when a defendant seeks a mental health examination to explore possible mitigating circumstances, the trial court should exercise its discretion in favor of an examination when it finds that it needs more information to determine whether a mitigating factor might exist. State v. Clabourne, 142 Ariz. 335, 347, 690 P.2d 54, 66 (1984); see also A.R.S. § 13-4013 (1989) (granting indigent defendants in capital cases the right to such experts as are reasonably necessary). However, the rule is discretionary, and we will find an abuse of discretion only if the denial or restriction of funds is shown to have caused substantial prejudice to the defendant. See Clabourne, 142 Ariz. at 342, 690 P.2d at 61. We find no abuse of discretion here. In cases presenting this issue, we have found an abuse of discretion only when the record before the trial court indicated that a presentence mental health exam may well have produced additional evidence supporting mitigation. For example, in State v. Eastlack, we remanded for resentencing where the record contained numerous red flags suggesting that further examination might have produced mitigating evidence. 180 Ariz. 243, 263, 883 P.2d 999, 1019 (1994), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1978, 131 L.Ed.2d 866 (1995). In Eastlack, there was evidence of cocaine use by the defendant two hours before he committed a double murder. There was also evidence that defendant had symptoms of characterologic pathology and an antisocial personality disorder. Id. at 263, 883 P.2d at 1019. Defendant's mother, a practicing psychologist, also had testified that her son was psychologically impaired and might have brain lesions or neurological problems. Id. at 264, 883 P.2d at 1020. The record here, by contrast, contains little or nothing to suggest that defendant's mental capacity was ever impaired. His mental health was unquestioned throughout the trial. He did not raise an insanity defense and did not request a Rule 11 evaluation. Had defendant been under the influence of drugs when he murdered Rita, expert testimony may have aided the trial court in determining the effect of the drugs on defendant's capacity and thus may have led to additional mitigating evidence. See State v. Kiles, 175 Ariz. 358, 374, 857 P.2d 1212, 1228 (1993) (discussing expert mental health testimony where there was ample evidence that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the murders), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 114 S.Ct. 724, 126 L.Ed.2d 688 (1994). The evidence here, however, does not show that defendant was under the influence of drugs when he murdered Rita. Defendant has not argued, either below or on appeal, that he was intoxicated by alcohol or drugs when he murdered Rita. In fact, he denied ever using drugs throughout virtually the entire trial and sentencing. No expert, however qualified, could have determined, without foundational evidence from some source, that defendant was under the influence of drugs at any particular time. Because defendant's mental health was unquestioned and because defendant did not show or even assert that he was intoxicated when he murdered Rita, appointing a mental health expert would most likely not have produced any significant mitigating evidence. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the trial court acted within its discretion in denying the motion. Defendant also asserts, with no legal authority and little argument, that the trial court's denial of funds for an expert violated his right to due process and equal protection under the law. Under the facts of this case, we reject these claims as well.