Opinion ID: 2631933
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Right to Testify Under Allen

Text: Allen, like this case, concerned a jury trial to determine whether the defendant (Allen) required recommitment as an SVP. The prosecution presented three mental health experts who had reviewed extensive background documentation, and who had either interviewed Allen or treated him at Atascadero. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 849.) Through this testimony, the People established the following criminal history: Allen was convicted of committing forcible rapes against two women he did not know by entering their vehicles and using weapons to threaten them with harm. Allen also attacked female victims in three other incidents with which he was never charged. They involved a physical assault on an acquaintance in her car, a sexual assault on someone he met in a friend's apartment, and another sexual assault on a teenager he met outside a store. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 850-851.) All three expert witnesses described Allen's behavior in custody. Notably, he had a long history of sexual misconduct toward female staff in both prison and Atascadero (e.g., staring at them, stalking and sexually propositioning them, exposing his penis, and masturbating in their presence). He denied such acts, and would not stop after being rebuked. He also believed the women he harassed were in love with him. In addition, the experts testified about Allen's poor treatment progress. He had not graduated beyond the early phases of the program, and denied committing any sexual crimes. He often refused medication, saying it was unnecessary and dangerous. Sometimes, he took medication only at low doses and in exchange for special privileges. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 851-854.) In testifying that Allen met the standards for recommitment as an SVP, the experts made clear they relied not only on the defendant's past conduct (i.e., adjudicated and unadjudicated crimes, and sexual misconduct in custody), but also on numerous other factors (e.g., lack of remorse or empathy, denial and deceit, delusional and confused thoughts, and poor treatment progress). The consensus from the expert witnesses at trial was that Allen suffered from a diagnosed mental disorder consisting of paraphilia, psychosis, and antisocial personality disorder. Because his condition had not materially improved while hospitalized, he was viewed as posing a continued high risk of offense. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 852-854.) [15] Despite this expert evidence of Allen's substantial mental disorders, Allen made, so far as appears, no claim that his mental state rendered him incompetent to participate and assist in his SVP trial. During trial, the court learned that Allen sought to testify against counsel's advice. Such proffered testimony covered three topics: (1) Allen's claim that his victims had consented to the sex acts underlying his criminal convictions and uncharged crimes, (2) physical side effects that made him resist taking medication, and (3) his insistence that his sexual conduct in custody was prompted by the flirtatious behavior of female staff. Counsel alluded to certain tactical reasons for objecting to his client's testimony under such circumstances, including its `counterproductive' nature and the prospect of damaging rebuttal. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 856-857.) The court deferred to counsel. Hence, no testimony by Allen, or by any other defense witness, was introduced. The jury ultimately found Allen to be an SVP under the Act. (44 Cal.4th at p. 857.) On review, this court agreed with Allen that he had a federal and state constitutional right to testify at trial, and that counsel lacked the ultimate authority to overrule that decision. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 848, 863, fn. 14, 870.) However, our analysis was carefully tailored to the substance of the right being asserted and the nature of the interests being weighed. At the outset, we made clear that Allen did not have the same fundamental right as a criminal defendant to testify over counsel's objection. (See People v. Robles (1970) 2 Cal.3d 205, 215 [85 Cal.Rptr. 166, 466 P.2d 710].) Allen explained that proceedings to commit an individual as an SVP serve to protect the public and are civil in nature. Hence, various constitutional rights afforded to defendants in criminal trials simply do not apply in this context. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 860.) However, because commitment under the Act involves significant restrictions on liberty, Allen assessed the claimed right to testify in due process terms. The four-part balancing test commonly used for this purpose was applied. ( Allen, at pp. 862-863.) The first factor concerned the private interests at stake. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 863.) Allen observed that commitment under the Act affects significant interests, including liberty, reputation, and freedom from unwanted treatment. These interests, Allen concluded, weighed in favor of adopting all reasonable procedures to prevent their erroneous deprivation, including a right to testify where counsel objects. Second, Allen considered the risk, in the absence of a right to testify, of an erroneous finding that the defendant is a sexually violent predator and the probative value, in reducing this risk, of allowing him or her to testify over the objection of counsel. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 863.) Allen observed that an SVP's testimony at trial typically will concern his or her conduct. ( Id. at p. 866.) In other words, a defendant who testifies over counsel's objection at trial would describe the sexually violent offenses of which he was convicted, any unadjudicated crimes, and any misconduct or other relevant behavior in custody. Allen explained that such information is relevant to the `foundation' of the SVP finding insofar as it supports or undermines expert opinion at trial on whether the defendant is mentally disordered and dangerous. ( Ibid. ) Along these lines, Allen acknowledged that the defendant's testimony, even if truthful from his perspective, could harm his case if it confirms expert opinion that he suffers from a dangerous and disordered view of reality. Allen, for instance, sought to testify that some of his victims either consented to or provoked his sexual crimes and misconduct. The clear implication was that the risks inherent in such testimony are often present when counsel decides not to call his client to the stand. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 865-866 & fn. 16.) Nevertheless, Allen observed that attorneys are not infallible in making such assessments. For this reason, Allen could not eliminate the possibility that a defendant testifying against counsel's advice might raise a reasonable doubt concerning the facts underlying the experts' opinions. ( Id. at p. 866.) Guaranteeing a right to testify over counsel's objection, even on the narrow range of issues to which such testimony relates, could conceivably reduce the risk of error, at least in the latter cases. Hence, Allen viewed this factor as favoring such a constitutional right to testify. Third, Allen considered `the government's interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.' ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 866.) Allen highlighted the strong interest in protecting the public from SVP's, and in confining and treating them for the mental disorders that predispose them to reoffend. ( Ibid. ) Allen theorized that, at least where the defendant's testimony materially enhances the facts supporting expert opinion at trial, his participation as a witness over counsel's objection might help secure an accurate SVP finding. Because such a constitutional right would serve the state's interest in identifying persons requiring commitment under the Act, this factor did not undercut Allen's due process claim. As to any fiscal and administrative burdens that might arise in such cases, Allen observed they were de minimis. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 867.) Allen noted, for instance, that where the defendant testifies over counsel's objection and such testimony proves to be beneficial to his case, the People must decide whether to present additional evidence in rebuttal. Allen suggested that this circumstance did not add to the burden that the People already bore in responding to defendants who testify at SVP trials with counsel's consent. Likewise, the constitutional right claimed by Allen would not lengthen the proceedings or increase costs except in that subset of cases in which the defendant rejects counsel's advice and testifies. ( Ibid. ) The fourth factor that Allen addressed was `the dignitary interest in informing individuals of the nature, grounds, and consequences of the action and in enabling them to present their side of the story before a responsible government official.' ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 868.) Allen reiterated that a defendant should be allowed to testify no matter how strategically misguided his decision seemed to be. ( Id. at p. 869.) In that situation, the state had no interest in treating him merely as a spectator, or in requiring that his story be filtered through counsel or other witnesses. ( Ibid. ) Such concerns were found to favor Allen. Based on its analysis of the competing interests, Allen concluded that there was a due process right to testify over counsel's objection, and that it had been violated in that case. Allen further determined, however, that the error did not require reversal, because it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The reason was that the facts to which Allen sought to testify were largely tangential to the jury's determination that he was a mentally disordered and dangerous sexual offender. According to Allen, no reasonable juror would have rejected the strong expert testimony in this regard. Hence, the judgment recommitting Allen as an SVP was affirmed. ( Allen, supra, 44 Cal.4th 843, 870-875.)