Opinion ID: 2621987
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The right to a hearing as to competency

Text: Fergusen argues that the district court erred by not affording him a hearing to challenge the report as to competency under NRS 178.455 and NRS 178.460 after he returned from Lake's Crossing. Further, Fergusen argues that the district court's refusal to grant a hearing as to competency violated his due process rights because his right to a hearing is constitutionally guaranteed under Pate v. Robinson. [14] Fergusen contends that in addition to his right to a hearing as to competency under NRS 178.460, which allowed him to examine and contest the report prepared by Lake's Crossing, he should have been afforded a hearing because counsel had also raised competency concerns as to his ability to aid and assist counsel at that time. Fergusen additionally argues that the proceeding that had taken place upon his return from Lake's Crossing was a sham hearing because his counsel was not present at that proceeding. The State responds that a hearing as to competency was not required because, under Morales v. State, [15] a hearing as to competency is required only when reasonable doubt as to the defendant's competency arises. The State argues that because defense counsel's motion for a competency hearing was supported by medical findings that were made prior to Fergusen's commitment to Lake's Crossing, defense counsel failed to present sufficient evidence that amounted to reasonable doubt as to Fergusen's competency after his return from commitment. Thus, the State contends that a hearing as to competency was not warranted. Further, the State argues that Fergusen's request for a hearing under NRS 178.460 was untimely. In Morales, we reiterated our holding in Melchor-Gloria v. State [16] and stated that [w]here there is reasonable doubt regarding a defendant's competency, a district court's failure to order a competency evaluation constitutes an abuse of discretion and a denial of due process. [17] Under Nevada law, a district court is required to suspend proceedings against a defendant at any time during the proceedings, if doubt arises as to the competence of the defendant. [18] If a defendant has been found incompetent and committed to Lake's Crossing, the Administrator of the Division is required to report his specific findings regarding the defendant's present ability to understand the nature of the charges, understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings, and aid and assist counsel during the proceedings. [19] NRS 178.460 provides that the judge shall hold a hearing concerning the Administrator's report if such a hearing is requested within 10 days of receiving the report. Thus, upon a timely request, the district court must afford a defendant a hearing after the defendant has returned from a mental health facility such as Lake's Crossing, which would allow counsel to examine and contest the report prepared by the treatment team. And as we have recently recognized in Calvin v. State, [20] evidence received at every stage of the competency proceedings may be relevant to the defendant's competency and should be considered at such a competency hearing. [21] Upon Fergusen's return from Lake's Crossing, Department 5 conducted a proceeding during which it concluded that Fergusen was competent to proceed to trial, despite Fergusen's request for a continuance. The district court abused its discretion in denying this request for a continuance. [22] While Fergusen was represented by counsel during that proceeding, the deputy public defender was not Fergusen's counsel, but was covering for the deputy public defender that had been assigned to Fergusen's case. Further, it is apparent that Fergusen had not been afforded a meaningful opportunity to confer with counsel prior to the proceeding. As Fergusen did not have a significant opportunity to confer with his counsel prior to the proceeding and was not even represented by his assigned counsel at the hearing, Fergusen was denied a meaningful opportunity to be heard and was denied the meaningful opportunity to challenge the findings made in the Lake's Crossing report. [23] We further conclude that Department 5 abused its discretion in not granting a hearing as to competency upon defense counsel's motion. While the request for a hearing as to competency under NRS 178.460 may have been untimely in this case, a competency hearing was warranted because defense counsel had presented a challenge as to Fergusen not having the sufficient present ability to consult with counsel at that time. The motion was supported by evidence that raised sufficient doubt as to his competency to stand trial. [24] While defense counsel's arguments relating to Fergusen's competency were in part based on evaluations performed by doctors prior to Fergusen's commitment to Lake's Crossing, the evaluations had challenged whether Fergusen had the ability to ever regain competency. Additionally, defense counsel's proffered affidavit indicates that if there had been a hearing, defense counsel would have had a psychologist testify and opine that Fergusen was not competent to stand trial or assist counsel despite his treatment at Lake's Crossing. As such, Department 5 should have afforded defense counsel the opportunity to present their evidence relating to Fergusen's competency during a hearing; this evidence was relevant in addressing the ultimate issue of whether Fergusen understood the nature of the proceedings against him and whether he could assist counsel in his defense. [25]