Opinion ID: 2378015
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The mental evaluation

Text: During the postconviction hearing, Matthews testified that problems within his family caused him to be depressed during the time period spanning from the filing of the charges to the entry of his guilty plea. He stated that he told his attorney that he was depressed, and that he had previously been under the care of a psychologist. He did not, however, specifically request that his attorney seek a mental evaluation. Matthews added that he received a mental evaluation in 1995 in connection with the aggravated assault charge, and that the diagnosis at that time was dissociative disorder and major depression. According to Matthews, the depression from which he suffered in 1990 was much worse than in 1995, and that a mental evaluation in 1990 was necessary because he was not sufficiently competent to assist his lawyer. Matthews testified that if he had received the mental evaluation, he would have insisted on going to trial once his competency was restored. Matthews's defense counsel testified that he represented Matthews in 1989, when he pleaded guilty and received a sentence of five years' probation. Also, defense counsel testified that the only indication that Matthews had any kind of physical or mental disability was Matthews's response to a question on a standard personal history questionnaire. Apparently, Matthews originally responded that he had no prior mental or physical disabilities, but that response was later corrected to drug-related, '86 and '87. We conclude that Matthews's defense counsel was not ineffective for failing to request a mental evaluation. We have previously held that a petitioner who asserts his incompetence for the first time in a petition for postconviction relief has the heavy burden of demonstrating with facts that he was not competent at the time of trial, or, as in this case, at the time of his guilty plea. Henry v. State, 288 Ark. 592, 708 S.W.2d 88 (1986). Other than Matthews's testimony, the only indication that he suffered from any mental disability appeared on the personal history questionnaire, where it was indicated that Matthews, at least two years prior to the filing of the charges in 1990, had a drug-related disability. Defense counsel, moreover, testified that he had no other indication that a mental evaluation was warranted.