Opinion ID: 3052709
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bertram Polis

Text: Polis, who met with McMurtrey dozens of times prior to trial, testified that McMurtrey’s behavior was very inconsistent and that he was sometimes “uncommunicative.” One month before trial, when Polis informed McMurtrey of the State’s plea offer of twenty-one years for second degree murder, McMurtrey stated that he would plead guilty only to “poaching out of season.” Polis stated that he did not believe that McMurtrey thought clearly about the plea offer or considered it in a rational fashion. Polis testified that, as the trial approached, McMurtrey’s mental state “deteriorated from the time of trial and continued to deteriorate throughout the trial.” He testified that McMurtrey’s demeanor fluctuated greatly during the trial, that McMurtrey was often agitated, angry, uncommunicative, and emotionally unstable, and that he had little memory of the offense. Polis also testified that McMurtrey interfered with his representation during trial, making verbal comments and threats, writing illegible notes, whispering, and mumbling. “It got to the point where I was more controlling Mr. McMurtrey than I was having him assist me.” Polis saw McMurtrey receive medication during recesses throughout the trial and saw him get sick from them. Polis also met with McMurtrey after trial and sentencing when McMurtrey had been moved to a new prison. Polis testi11244 MCMURTREY v. RYAN fied that McMurtrey “was like a different person” who was “mentally stable,” “calm,” and “exhibited some clarity of thought that I had never seen before in him.”