Opinion ID: 1423312
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Competency Petition

Text: Having resolved these threshold issues, we must next consider whether the trial court erred in concluding that Thompson had failed to make a threshold showing sufficient to warrant a hearing on his competency petition. Under Tennessee law, a prisoner is not competent to be executed if the prisoner lacks the mental capacity to understand the fact of the impending execution and the reason for it. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 266. A prisoner is not entitled to a hearing on the issue of competency unless the prisoner makes a threshold showing that a genuine, disputed issue exists regarding the prisoner's present competency. Id. at 268; see also Coe, 17 S.W.3d at 211. As this Court explained in Van Tran , the rationale underlying the threshold requirement is twofold. First, death penalty litigation engenders the potential for false claims and intentional delay. The issue of incompetency is particularly troublesome because this issue can be repeatedly litigated by the same prisoner until the very moment of execution with the prisoner repeatedly claiming the onset of incompetence sometime after the previous determination to the contrary. See Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 270 (citing Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 429, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986) (O'Connor, J., concurring in the result in part, dissenting in part). Second, the prisoner is presumed to be competent because the prisoner is asserting incompetency following a trial and sentencing hearing at which his sanity was either conceded or determined by the court. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 271 n. 15 (quoting Ford, 477 U.S. at 426 n. 6, 106 S.Ct. 2595 (Powell, J., concurring)) (citing State v. Harris, 114 Wash.2d 419, 789 P.2d 60, 67 (1990); Ariz.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 13-4022(E) (West Supp.1998); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2949.29(C) (Anderson Supp. 1998)). Given these compelling rationales, requiring a prisoner to make a substantial threshold showing is both necessary and appropriate. Indeed, as this Court emphasized in Van Tran : [w]ithout a substantial threshold requirement, the eleventh hour petitions asserting insanity would be encouraged because the death row petitioner would know that the mere filing of a conclusory petition would result in a stay of execution. Placing no initial burden on the petitioner is an invitation to specious insanity claims. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 269 (quoting Harris, 789 P.2d at 69). Thus, the prisoner bears the burden of making a threshold showing that a genuine, disputed issue exists regarding the prisoner's present competency. This burden may be met by the submission of affidavits, depositions, medical reports, or other credible evidence sufficient to demonstrate that there exists a genuine question regarding petitioner's present competency. In most circumstances, the affidavits, depositions, or medical reports attached to the prisoner's petition should be from psychiatrists, psychologists, or other mental health professionals. If the trial court is satisfied there exists a genuine disputed issue regarding the prisoner's present competency, then a hearing should be held. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d. at 269 (citations omitted). Proof sufficient to meet this threshold showing must relate to present incompetency; therefore, crucial to this showing is evidence from recent mental evaluations or recent observations of the prisoner. Id.; see also Coe, 17 S.W.3d at 212. The threshold is thus not satisfied by evidence of the prisoner's distant past incompetency. Id. In addition, unsupported conclusory assertions will be insufficient to satisfy the required threshold showing. Id. Allegations that the prisoner is mentally ill are not sufficient to meet the threshold showing requirement. See Coe, 17 S.W.3d at 221 (stating that the existence of a mental disorder does not automatically translate into a finding of incompetency to be executed). Unless the prisoner submits materials that raise genuine disputed issues about the prisoner's mental capacity to understand or be aware of the fact of the impending execution and the reason for it, the threshold showing has not been met. Id. at 220. Furthermore, the prisoner's unusual views about what occurs after the prisoner's execution are not pertinent to the question of [the prisoner's] competency because they do not impede [the prisoner's] ability to understand the fact of [the prisoner's] impending execution and the reason for it. Id. at 222. Indeed, as this Court and other courts have recognized, what occurs beyond death is not a subject on which any witness can be qualified as an expert, and every person is free to believe as he or she may wish on that subject. Id. at 222. Finally, this Court will review de novo the trial court's determination that Thompson failed to establish a genuine issue regarding his present competency. The trial court's decision at the threshold showing stage generally involves no factual determinations entitled to deferential review. Unlike Coe , the trial court in this case did not observe witnesses and make credibility determinations. Indeed, the trial court in this case reviewed affidavits and other written submissions before determining that Thompson had failed to establish a genuine issue as to his present competency to be executed. Therefore, much like the standard of review applied when reviewing a lower court decision granting summary judgment, the appropriate standard of review in this case is de novo, with no presumption of correctness afforded the trial court's decision. Whether a genuine issue exists is a question of law. [8] See, e.g., Guy v. Mut. of Omaha Ins. Co., 79 S.W.3d 528, 534 (Tenn.2002) (applying de novo review in the summary judgment context). Cf. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 272 (stating that procedural issues are reviewed de novo). Likewise, the appropriate standard of appellate review in this context is de novo with no presumption of correctness afforded the trial court's determination. [9] Our holding in this regard is a clarification of that portion of Van Tran which instructed that, if a trial court determines the prisoner has failed to meet the required threshold showing, the trial court shall enter an order denying the petition, which shall include written detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Van Tran, 6 S.W.3d at 269. The trial court need only include detailed findings of fact in the order if the trial court actually makes findings of fact. Where as here the trial court concludes that the prisoner's written submissions fail to meet the threshold showing required for a hearing, findings of fact are not necessary. Having articulated the governing legal standards, we next must apply those standards to Thompson's petition and supporting documents.