Opinion ID: 2507985
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Competence During Penalty Phase and Before Sentencing

Text: Defendant claims that even if the evidence was insufficient to require a suspension of the criminal proceedings before his guilty plea and commencement of trial, additional evidence surfaced during the penalty trial and before sentencing that required the court to order a competency hearing. Specifically, defendant points to the fact that penalty phase testimony indicated he was physically abused by his mother from the time he was an infant. The childhood abuse led to his violent behavior as a young adult, such as kicking in the front door of former girlfriend Mowery, threatening her with a butcher knife, and later shooting her. He also gave a pretrial interview to a news reporter, implying that he would kill again if crossed. In addition, as noted ( ante, 21 Cal.Rptr.3d at p. 585, 101 P.3d at pp. 486-487), Dr. Kormos, a board-certified psychiatrist, testified as a defense witness that defendant suffered from paranoid personality disorder. Dr. Kormos added that the paranoid condition is not episodic; it differs from a true psychosis because the sufferer never loses touch with reality. Defendant contends that Dr. Kormos's testimony should have alerted the trial court that defendant's pursuit of a death sentence was the product of mental illness and not a rational choice. Dr. Kormos's testimony made clear, or at least provided substantial evidence to suspect, that [defendant's] mental illness, his paranoid personality disorder, precluded him from assisting in his defense, since any rational defense would have to concede that the homicides were unjustified and inevitably suggest that there was something wrong with defendant's view that when lines are crossed or rules are violated, the threatened consequences must be meted out. In effect, [defendant's] desire to receive the death penalty is perfectly in keeping with his mental illness. To defend himself and defend his life would be to admit that what he did was wrong. Defendant lists 18 examples from Dr. Kormos's testimony that would have alerted the trial court to defendant's incompetence, including the evidence of defendant's attack on Deputy Dexter, his attempt to kill Mowery, and his statements to the reporter. Defendant claims that the evidence presented at the penalty phase was a changed circumstance or new evidence casting a serious doubt on his competency. (See People v. Jones (1997) 15 Cal.4th 119, 149, 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 386, 931 P.2d 960.) The evidence, defendant contends, required the trial court to suspend proceedings and hold a competency hearing under section 1368. We disagree. Dr. Kormos testified that although defendant suffered from a paranoid personality disorder, that disorder did not render him mentally incompetent to understand the proceedings or assist the defense in any way. The evidence defendant presented at the penalty trial did indicate that defendant lived by his own set of rules and acted without regard for the lives of others. That defendant lived by his own code of conduct neither indicates he was mentally incompetent and could not understand the penalty proceedings, nor presents any new evidence or changed circumstance that would require the court to suspend the proceedings. As the People observe, the focus of the penalty phase is to determine whether the death penalty should be imposed on a defendant who has been determined death eligible as a result of the findings and verdict reached at the guilt phase. ( People v. Musselwhite (1998) 17 Cal.4th 1216, 1266-1267, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 212, 954 P.2d 475.) Although defendant's mental capacity and his lack of remorse may have been factors the defense wanted the jury to consider in its penalty determination, the record fails to indicate that defendant could not understand the proceedings or otherwise assist in his defense. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in failing to conduct a competency hearing during the penalty phase of the proceedings. ( Welch, supra, 20 Cal.4th at pp. 739-740, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 203, 976 P.2d 754 [no abuse of discretion in court's failure to hold competency hearing when defendant shows sufficient present ability to consult lawyer and rational and factual understanding of proceedings against him].)