Opinion ID: 697732
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Competence to Waive Counsel and Plead Guilty

Text: 47 Due process requires a court to conduct a competency hearing on its own motion, before permitting a defendant to waive constitutional rights, whenever a reasonable judge would be expected to have a bona fide doubt as to the defendant's competence. United States v. Lewis, 991 F.2d 524, 527 (9th Cir.) (competence to plead guilty), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 216, 126 L.Ed.2d 172 (1993); Harding v. Lewis, 834 F.2d 853, 856 (9th Cir.1987) (competence to waive counsel), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 871, 109 S.Ct. 182, 102 L.Ed.2d 151 (1988); Chavez v. United States, 656 F.2d 512, 515-16 (9th Cir.1981) (competence to plead guilty). A bona fide doubt should exist when there is substantial evidence of incompetence. Lewis, 991 F.2d at 527; Harding, 834 F.2d at 856; Chavez, 656 F.2d at 517. Although no particular facts signal incompetence, suggestive evidence includes a defendant's demeanor before the trial court, previous irrational behavior, and available medical evaluations. Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 180, 95 S.Ct. 896, 908, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975); Lewis, 991 F.2d at 527; Harding, 834 F.2d at 856. 48 As we said in our previous decision, a reasonable jurist should have entertained a good faith doubt as to Moran's competence during the November 28, 1984 change-of-plea hearing. Moran, 972 F.2d at 265. When the trial court asked Moran whether he was presently under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Moran indicated he was taking medications. Although the court made no inquiry, it is not disputed the medications Moran was taking were Inderal, Dilantin, Phenobarbital, and Vistaril. Inderal, a beta-blocker, is used in the management of hypertension. Physician's Desk Reference (42d ed. 1988) at 650-52; Docket No. 26, Exhibit III. Dilantin is an antiepileptic drug that inhibits the spread of seizure activity in the motor cortex and is related to barbiturates in its chemical structure. Id. at 1543-45. Vistaril is used for relief of anxiety and tension associated with psychoneurosis. It acts on certain key regions of the central nervous system. Id. at 1625-26. Phenobarbital is a sedative used to counteract central nervous system stimulation. Id. at 1667-68. It is also not disputed that these medications were given to Moran while he was in jail awaiting trial, although the record is silent as to what dosages he was given, the times they were administered, and the effect they had on him. 49 The court also was aware that three months before the hearing, Moran attempted suicide, and that he wanted to fire his attorneys, plead guilty to three counts of capital murder, and die. 50 In these circumstances, the state trial court should have entertained a bona fide doubt as to Moran's competence. The court should have held an immediate competency hearing. It did not, and as a result Moran's right to procedural due process was violated. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 385, 86 S.Ct. 836, 842, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966); Lewis, 991 F.2d at 527; Harding, 834 F.2d at 856. The state contends, however, that the 1987 post-conviction hearing cured this due process violation. We agree. 51 When a state court wrongfully fails to hold a competency hearing, it often may be impossible to repair the damage retrospectively. Evans v. Raines, 800 F.2d 884, 888 (9th Cir.1986). However, although retrospective competency hearings are disfavored, see Drope, 420 U.S. at 183, 95 S.Ct. at 909; Blazak v. Ricketts, 1 F.3d 891, 894 n. 3 (9th Cir.1993) (Tang, J., for an equally divided court), cert. denied sub nom. Lewis v. Blazak, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1866, 128 L.Ed.2d 487 (1994), they are permissible whenever a court can conduct a meaningful hearing to evaluate retrospectively the competency of the defendant. See Evans, 800 F.2d at 888; DeKaplany v. Enomoto, 540 F.2d 975, 986 n. 11 (9th Cir.1976) (en banc), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1075, 97 S.Ct. 815, 50 L.Ed.2d 793 (1977). While the passage of time is significant in determining whether such a hearing can be held, Pate, 383 U.S. at 387, 86 S.Ct. at 843, medical reports contemporaneous to the time of the initial hearing greatly increase the chance for an accurate retrospective evaluation of a defendant's competence. See Sieling v. Eyman, 478 F.2d 211, 215-16 (9th Cir.1973). See also Ray v. Bowen, 843 F.2d 998, 1006 (7th Cir.1988). 52 In the present case, the post-conviction hearing was held three years after Moran waived counsel and pleaded guilty. The judge who presided at the post-conviction hearing was the same judge who presided over the change-of-plea hearing. His familiarity with the case made him well situated to adduce any additional evidence needed to determine Moran's competency. The post-conviction court also had the benefit of two medical reports from psychiatrists who evaluated Moran's competency two months before the change-of-plea hearing, and who opined he was competent to stand trial. One of these examining psychiatrists testified before the post-conviction court. 53 The post-conviction court also had the records from two hearings held after the change-of-plea hearing. At a presentencing hearing on December 17, 1984, conducted less than three weeks after the change-of-plea hearing, Moran repeated his desire not to be represented by counsel, and stated he did not wish to withdraw his guilty pleas. He also indicated he did not want to present witnesses at the sentencing hearing, or allow an attorney to gather mitigating evidence. At the sentencing hearing on January 21, 1985, Moran refused to present mitigating evidence, cross-examine witnesses, or view the exhibits used by the state to prove aggravating circumstances. The judge who presided at these two subsequent hearings also presided at the change-of-plea hearing and post-conviction hearing. 54 Moran testified at the post-conviction hearing. He said the medications made him indifferent at the time he waived counsel and pleaded guilty, but he did not present any evidence to show that at the change-of-plea hearing he lacked the  'ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding' [or that he then lacked] 'a rational [or] factual understanding of the proceedings against him.'  Godinez, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2685 (quoting Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 789, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960) (per curiam)). 55 State court competency determinations are entitled to a presumption of correctness. Brewer v. Lewis, 989 F.2d 1021, 1027 (9th Cir.1993). We will overturn a competency finding only if it is not fairly supported by the record. Demosthenes v. Baal, 495 U.S. 731, 735, 110 S.Ct. 2223, 2225, 109 L.Ed.2d 762 (1990) (per curiam); Maggio v. Fulford, 462 U.S. 111, 117, 103 S.Ct. 2261, 2264, 76 L.Ed.2d 794 (1983) (per curiam); King v. Brown, 8 F.3d 1403, 1408 (9th Cir.1993); Brewer, 989 F.2d at 1027. 56 The trial court should have had a bona fide doubt as to Moran's competence during the November 28, 1984 change-of-plea hearing. It should have conducted a competency hearing at that time. However, because the retrospective determination of Moran's competence by the post-conviction court in 1987 is fairly supported by the record, we have no basis to overturn it. See Evans, 800 F.2d at 887 (There was conflicting [evidence] on this issue, but the state court resolved the conflicts in the state's favor. Its resolution is 'fairly supported by the record.' ) (quoting 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254(d) (1992)). See also Brewer, 989 F.2d at 1027. 57 Moran challenges the findings of the post-conviction court by arguing that the court incorrectly placed the burden of proof on him to establish his incompetence. He relies on James v. Singletary, 957 F.2d 1562, 1570-71 (11th Cir.1992). 58 In James, 957 F.2d at 1570-71, the Eleventh Circuit interpreted Pate, 383 U.S. at 385, 86 S.Ct. at 842, to require a defendant to first establish that the trial court failed to conduct a competency hearing at the time a bona fide doubt should have arisen as to his competency. According to James, if a defendant establishes this Pate error, the burden of proof then shifts to the state to prove it is possible to hold a retrospective hearing to determine whether the defendant was competent to stand trial. James, 957 F.2d at 1570-71. If the state successfully demonstrates a meaningful retrospective hearing can be held, the burden of proof remains with the state at the retrospective proceeding to show the defendant was competent. Id. But see Porter v. Estelle, 709 F.2d 944, 949 n. 3 (5th Cir.1983) (petitioner bears burden of proof by preponderance of the evidence), cert. denied sub nom. Porter v. McKaskle, 466 U.S. 984, 104 S.Ct. 2367, 80 L.Ed.2d 838 (1984). 59 After the decision in James, the Supreme Court, in Medina v. California, --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S.Ct. 2572, 2579, 120 L.Ed.2d 353 (1992), held that a state may constitutionally place the burden of proof on a defendant at a competency hearing. The Court recognized a state must provide procedures adequate to protect a defendant's right not to be tried or convicted while incompetent. Id. (internal quotations omitted). However, 60 [o]nce a State provides a defendant access to procedures for making a competency evaluation, ... we perceive no basis for holding that due process further requires the State to assume the burden of vindicating the defendant's constitutional right by persuading the trier of fact that the defendant is competent to stand trial. 61 Id. Thus, so long as the state provides adequate procedures to assess competence, it constitutionally may assign the burden of proof to the defendant. 62 Although Medina involved a pretrial competency hearing, the Supreme Court's rationale is equally applicable to retrospective competency hearings. When it is established that a petitioner's competence can be accurately evaluated retrospectively, there is no compelling reason to require states to divert from their normal procedures for assessing competence. Moran's competence could be accurately evaluated retrospectively. Nevada was not constitutionally obligated to place the burden of proof on the prosecution to establish his competence, or to relieve him of the burden of establishing his incompetence. 63 Although there is no federal right to be free from the burden of proof in a retrospective state competency hearing, Medina, --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 2579, Moran contends that Nevada has created a federally protected state liberty interest in such a right. It is well established that state laws can create liberty interests triggering federally enforceable procedural rights. Dix v. County of Shasta, 963 F.2d 1296, 1299 (9th Cir.1992). Misapplication of these laws that lead to deprivations of those liberty interests by state institutions may be reviewed in federal habeas proceedings. Ballard v. Estelle, 937 F.2d 453, 456 (9th Cir.1991). 64 In Kentucky Department of Corrections v. Thompson, 490 U.S. 454, 462-63, 109 S.Ct. 1904, 1909-10, 104 L.Ed.2d 506 (1989), the Court held that to create a constitutionally protected liberty interest, a state law must contain substantive predicates governing an official's decision, and explicit language specifying the outcome that must be reached if the predicates are met. See Dix, 963 F.2d at 1299. 65 Moran contends that in Doggett v. Warden, 93 Nev. 591, 595, 572 P.2d 207, 210 (1977), Nevada created a constitutionally protected liberty interest relieving a defendant of the burden of proving his incompetence if he demonstrates the trial court committed a Pate error. In Doggett, the Nevada Supreme Court stated, [W]hen the trial court has failed to follow the procedural safeguards of Pate ... the State is required to forego its usual requirement that the defendant establish his incompetence as of the date of the original trial. Id. 66 There is a distinction between state-created procedures and the substantive liberty interests those procedures are meant to protect. Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 250, 103 S.Ct. 1741, 1748, 75 L.Ed.2d 813 (1983) (Process is not an end in itself. Its constitutional purpose is to protect a substantive interest to which the individual has a legitimate claim of entitlement.); Smith v. Sumner, 994 F.2d 1401, 1406-07 (9th Cir.1993). Only the denial or misapplication of state procedures that results in the deprivation of a substantive right will implicate a federally recognized liberty interest. See Olim, 461 U.S. at 250-51, 103 S.Ct. at 1748 (state procedures that do not protect substantive rights do not create independent substantive rights); Smith v. Sumner, 994 F.2d at 1406; Toussaint v. McCarthy, 801 F.2d 1080, 1096-97 & n. 15 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1069, 107 S.Ct. 2462, 95 L.Ed.2d 871 (1987). 67 Here, the post-conviction court violated Nevada law when it placed the burden of proving competency on Moran. Doggett, 93 Nev. at 595, 572 P.2d at 210. This violation of state law, however, did not result in the deprivation of a substantive right, because the state provided Moran with constitutionally adequate procedures to evaluate his competency, see Drope, 420 U.S. at 172, 95 S.Ct. at 904, even with the burden of proof on Moran. Medina, --- U.S. at ----, 112 S.Ct. at 2579. See also Hernandez v. Ylst, 930 F.2d 714, 719 (9th Cir.1991); Middleton v. Cupp, 768 F.2d 1083, 1085 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 478 U.S. 1021, 106 S.Ct. 3336, 92 L.Ed.2d 741 (1986). Cf. Campbell v. Blodgett, 997 F.2d 512, 522 (9th Cir.1992), aff'd on reh'g en banc, 18 F.3d 662 (9th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1337, 127 L.Ed.2d 685 (1994); Fetterly v. Paskett, 997 F.2d 1295, 1297 (9th Cir.1993). 68 Moran also argues that because the post-convictionn court failed to consider his claim that he was incompetent to discharge his counsel, it failed to cure the Pate violation. We reject this argument. The post-conviction court considered and rejected Moran's claim that he was incompetent to plead guilty. The record supports this conclusion. The standard for competence to plead guilty is the same as the standard for competence to waive counsel. Godinez, --- U.S. at ---- - ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2686-87. Because the two standards are identical, one finding of competence suffices for both.