Opinion ID: 1448365
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The district court's consideration of the Lakes Crossing psychological report was an abuse of discretion.

Text: On February 28, 1994, Troy stipulated to his commitment to Lakes Crossing for psychological evaluation. The court ordered Troy committed to Lakes Crossing to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, was of sufficient mentality to be able to aid and assist in his defense, and was legally sane at the time of the alleged crime. At the sentencing hearing, the district judge reviewed Troy's psychological reports generated at Lakes Crossing and stated that he was going to consider those reports during sentencing. Based on the Lakes Crossing psychological reports, the district judge stated the following: he believed that Troy was a victim, not because he was falsely accused, but because his parents subjected him to abuse and neglect all of his life; Troy had been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol two times, and Troy believed the sheriff was trying to pick on him and make an example out of him; Troy was taken for psychological evaluations years earlier because his parents were concerned about his violent behavior when he was intoxicated; according to the psychological test administered at Lakes Crossing, Troy was defensive and unwilling to acknowledge psychological problems, was immature, egocentric, moody, and insecure, had a poor self-concept and a lack of self-confidence, and was likely to act out sexually; Troy grew up in a dysfunctional family in which alcoholism, domestic violence, and child abuse were present. We conclude that the district court's consideration of the Lakes Crossing psychological reports was an abuse of discretion. In Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981), the United States Supreme Court concluded that the testimony of a psychiatrist who evaluated a criminal defendant for purposes of competency was improperly used during the penalty phase of a trial. During the penalty phase, the psychiatrist testified regarding information he learned through the psychological examination, stating among other things that the defendant was a sociopath whose condition would only get worse, that the defendant would continue his behavior, and that the defendant had no regard for other human beings' lives. Id. at 459, 101 S.Ct. at 1871. The jury imposed the death penalty, but the United States Supreme Court reversed the sentence on the grounds that the defendant was entitled to the protection of the Fifth Amendment at the court ordered psychiatric interview and was not apprised of his right to remain silent. Id. at 462, 101 S.Ct. at 1872. This protection existed even though the psychiatrist's testimony was used only for purposes of punishment and not guilt, because [a]ny effort by the State to compel respondent to testify against his will at the sentencing hearing clearly would contravene the Fifth Amendment. Yet the State's attempt to establish respondent's future dangerousness by relying on the unwarned statements he made to [the psychiatrist] similarly infringes Fifth Amendment values. Id. at 463, 101 S.Ct. at 1873 (footnote omitted). Nevada cases have utilized a similar analysis. In Esquivel v. State, 96 Nev. 777, 617 P.2d 587 (1980), this court stated that it was improper for the prosecution to impeach a defendant with statements the defendant made during a court ordered mental examination. Id. at 778, 617 P.2d at 587. A defendant should feel free in a clinical climate to discuss all relevant facts without fear that those statements may be used against him later; [f]air play dictates nothing less. Id. In McKenna v. State, 98 Nev. 38, 639 P.2d 557 (1982), this court reversed McKenna's sentence when the prosecutor presented substantive evidence from a psychiatrist who testified that McKenna had admitted during a court ordered psychological examination that he had murdered the victim. This court, citing Esquivel, reversed the conviction, stating that it was unfair for the State to appoint a psychiatrist to examine an accused and then employ the confidential contents of that psychiatric interview to obtain a conviction. Id. at 39, 639 P.2d at 558; see also Winiarz v. State, 104 Nev. 43, 752 P.2d 761 (1988). Even though these Nevada cases only address the use of a court ordered psychiatrist's testimony in the guilt phase, the United States Supreme Court has stated that it could discern no basis to distinguish between the guilt and penalty phases of ... trial so far as the protection of the Fifth Amendment privilege is concerned and that it is improper to use such psychiatric testimony at either the guilt phase or the penalty phase. Estelle, 451 U.S. at 462-63, 101 S.Ct. at 1872-73. We realize that Estelle, Esquivel, and McKenna all concerned the use of the psychological reports in the penalty phase of a first degree murder case and that the instant case concerns the use of such reports in the sentencing hearing of a non-first-degree-murder case; however the rationale from those cases applies here. See Pens v. Bail 902 F.2d 1464, 1466 (9th Cir. 1990) (in a rape case, unwarned statements given in a psychiatric evaluation about other offenses could not be used to enhance a sentence); State v. Valera, 74 Haw. 424, 848 P.2d 376, 382 (1993) (the use at sentencing of statements previously obtained in violation of a defendant's privilege against self-incrimination violates that defendant's privilege against self-incrimination). Pursuant to this case law, we conclude that the district judge abused his discretion and that Troy is entitled to a new sentencing hearing. The district judge ordered the psychological examination of Troy and then relied on the conclusions of that exam, including his unwarned statements to the psychiatrist, to determine that Troy was likely to act out sexually and that he was not falsely convicted. Such consideration of the reports violates the fair play rules set forth in Esquivel and McKenna and the Fifth Amendment concerns set forth in Estelle, and constitutes reversible error.