Opinion ID: 761773
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: neurological testing

Text: 31 Mr. Walker asserts he was denied due process and equal protection by the state courts' failure to provide funds for neurological testing. Although Dr. Sherman, a psychologist, determined Mr. Walker was competent to stand trial, he also recommended that Mr. Walker be given a further complete psychological and psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Goodman, the psychiatrist consulting at the time of trial on the insanity defense, also strongly urged that further neurological testing be conducted because Mr. Walker presented the profile of an individual who often suffers from minimal organic brain disease, which Dr. Goodman stated could be relevant as either a cause or factor in Mr. Walker's mental illness. Mr. Walker was clinically examined by Dr. John Hastings, a neurologist, to evaluate the possibility of minimal brain damage. Dr. Hastings recommended that an electroencephalogram be repeated to rule out a seizure disorder, and that Mr. Walker be given a CT scan to rule out physical brain abnormalities. Although Mr. Walker's attorney unsuccessfully requested a trial continuance so that additional evaluation of Mr. Walker's mental state could be conducted, the record contains no evidence that Mr. Walker's attorney requested funds to pay for further neurological testing. We note, however, that funds for such tests were denied Mr. Walker in the contemporaneous criminal proceeding in which Dr. Goodman also assisted him. It is clear that due either to lack of time or lack of funds, Mr. Walker was denied the opportunity to conduct the additional neurological testing recommended by the experts who examined him before trial. We must therefore assess whether he is entitled to federal habeas corpus relief on that ground. 32 Mr. Walker contends the lack of additional testing is relevant both to his competency claims and to his insanity defense. In Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985), the Supreme Court held that due process requires a defendant be provided with court-appointed psychiatric assistance at trial and during sentencing if he demonstrates his mental state will be a significant factor in those proceedings. Id. at 1091-92. Although Ake was decided in 1985 after Mr. Walker's trial, we have held it nevertheless applies to cases such as this which were pending on direct appeal at the time. See Liles v. Saffle, 945 F.2d 333, 335 n. 2 (10th Cir.1991). Under these circumstances, the question is whether, upon review of the entire record, the petitioner could have made a threshold showing of need, which requires substantive supporting facts. Id. at 336. Although general allegations of need without substantive supporting facts and undeveloped assertions that assistance would be beneficial will not suffice, id., we have construed Ake broadly, see Brewer v. Reynolds, 51 F.3d 1519, 1529 (10th Cir.1995). We held in Brewer that even when the State did not present expert testimony, the Ake requirements apply if the State presented evidence at the sentencing phase concerning the defendant's future dangerousness and the defendant showed that his mental condition could have been a significant mitigating factor. Id. The inquiry is whether evidence was presented to the trial court suggesting that his mental condition was likely to be a significant factor. Castro v. Oklahoma, 71 F.3d 1502, 1513-14 (10th Cir.1995). We believe the evidence described above presented through the mental health experts was sufficient to trigger the application of Ake, and the State therefore should have provided Mr. Walker with the opportunity for the neurological testing those experts recommended. 33 That conclusion does not end our inquiry, however. The denial of psychiatric assistance in violation of Ake is trial error subject to harmless error analysis under the standard set forth in Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946); see Brewer, 51 F.3d at 1529. We must therefore decide whether the error had substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict. Kotteakos, 328 U.S. at 776, 66 S.Ct. 1239. Under this standard, we will grant relief if we believe the error substantially influenced the jury's decision, or if we are in grave doubt as to the harmlessness of the error. See O'Neal v. McAninch, 513 U.S. 432, 436, 115 S.Ct. 992, 130 L.Ed.2d 947 (1995). 34 Our review of the record convinces us that the lack of the additional recommended testing had no substantial injurious impact on the jury's decision. Dr. Goodman testified extensively at trial in support of Mr. Walker's insanity defense. Although Dr. Goodman stated that Mr. Walker had not been given a CT scan or an electroencephalogram and that he would have been more comfortable with his opinion if Mr. Walker had been given those tests, Dr. Goodman responded affirmatively when he was asked whether he was comfortable in giving his opinion based on the information he had at that time. We have reviewed Dr. Goodman's testimony and we are not convinced the lack of these tests was significant. The focus by both the prosecution and the defense in their extensive examination of Dr. Goodman was on the nature of Mr. Walker's mental illness and the effect his illness had upon his behavior rather than on its cause. Moreover, Dr. Goodman's testimony indicated to the jury that he and other experts who had examined Mr. Walker believed that his illness did in fact have an organic component. 35 We likewise conclude that the lack of neurological testing did not have an injurious impact on Mr. Walker's competency proceedings. Dr. Goodman stated unequivocally his opinion that Mr. Walker was competent to stand trial. Although Dr. Goodman reiterated that a higher degree of certainty would have existed if the additional testing had been done, he did not qualify his opinion on Mr. Walker's competency. As with the question of insanity, the issue for determination in the competency proceedings was not the cause of Mr. Walker's mental illness but its effect on his ability to understand the charges against him and to aid in his defense. Accordingly, the lack of neurological testing is not grounds for federal habeas relief.