Opinion ID: 159988
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Unconstitutional Burden of Proof

Text: 14 Following the reversal of his first conviction, a jury determined Mr. McGregor was competent to stand trial. At that competency proceeding, however, the trial court unconstitutionally required him to prove his incompetence by clear and convincing evidence. See Cooper v. Oklahoma, 517 U.S. 348, 350, 369 (1996). 15 Mr. McGregor challenged the application of that burden of proof for the first time in state post-conviction proceedings. Applying the 1995 amendments to Oklahoma's post-conviction procedures, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals declined to consider his Cooper claim. See McGregor, 935 P.2d at 333, 334. Respondents assert that Mr. McGregor has thus procedurally defaulted his Cooper claim. This procedural due process claim is subject to procedural default. See, e.g., Van Woudenberg ex rel. Foor v. Gibson, 211 F.3d 560, 567 (10th Cir. 2000). 16 The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided Mr. McGregor's direct criminal appeal in 1994; the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in October 1995. The 1995 amendments to Oklahoma's post-conviction procedure became effective November 1, 1995. See Rogers v. Gibson, 173 F.3d 1278, 1290 n.12 (10th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 944 (2000). The Supreme Court did not decide Cooper until April 1996. 1 Because [t]he 1995 Oklahoma statutory amendments greatly circumscribed the court's power to apply intervening changes in the law to post-conviction applicants and because a defendant cannot be expected to comply with a procedural rule that did not exist at the time of the purported default, this state procedural bar is not adequate to preclude federal habeas review. James v. Gibson, 211 F.3d 543, 550-51 (10th Cir. 2000) (quotation omitted); see also, e.g., Clayton, 199 F.3d at 1171. 17 Clearly established Supreme Court precedent provides that the criminal trial of one who is incompetent violates due process. See Cooper, 517 U.S. at 354, citing cases. Because the jury in this case determined Mr. McGregor's competency under an unconstitutional burden of proof, this court cannot presume its competency finding to be correct. See, e.g., Van Woudenberg, 211 F.3d at 567 n.5. Rather, this court must review his competency claim as if there had been no competency hearing at all. See, e.g., id. 18 A competency claim based upon procedural due process involves a defendant's constitutional right, once a bona fide doubt has been raised as to competency, to an adequate state procedure to insure that he is in fact competent to stand trial. Barnett v. Hargett, 174 F.3d 1128, 1133-34 (10th Cir. 1999). The issue presented, therefore, is whether a bona fide doubt exists as to Mr. McGregor's competence at the time of his trial. See, e.g., Van Woudenberg, 211 F.3d at 567. 19 A defendant will be deemed competent to stand trial if at the time of trial he had sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding -- and . . . a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him. Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 . . . (1960). Although not limited to these factors, a court conducting a competency inquiry should consider defendant's demeanor at trial, any evidence of irrational behavior by defendant, and perhaps most important, any prior medical opinions regarding competency. 20 Clayton, 199 F.3d at 1171. 21 Careful review of the record fails to persuade us that there was a bona fide doubt as to Mr. McGregor's competency at the time of trial. Mr. McGregor does have a long history of mental illness and treatment with psychotropic medication. That alone, however, is insufficient to establish that he was incompetent to stand trial. See, e.g., United States v. Mackovich, 209 F.3d 1227, 1233 (10th Cir. 2000). 22 A treating psychiatrist deemed him competent prior to his first trial, in 1983. Although the trial court, prior to his second trial in 1989, found initial doubt sufficient to necessitate a psychiatric evaluation, the subsequent examining psychologist's report, concluding Mr. McGregor was competent, dispelled that initial concern. Foster v. Ward, 182 F.3d 1177, 1191 (10th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 1438 (2000). Although these competency determinations did rest on Mr. McGregor's continued treatment with antipsychotic medication, the evidence fails to indicate any significant disruption in his medication during trial. 2 See Walker v. Attorney Gen., 167 F.3d 1339, 1346 (10th Cir.) (competency determination could change if, among other things, petitioner failed to continue taking his medication), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 449 (1999). The record does not indicate any occasion when a mental health official has ever found that Mr. McGregor was, at any time, incompetent to stand trial. See Clayton, 199 F.3d at 1171-72 (no bona fide doubt existed as to petitioner's competence to stand trial, in light of unequivocal testimony of three medical experts that petitioner was competent to stand trial). 23 During trial, defense counsel did raise concerns about Mr. McGregor's competency. Although defense counsel's representations concerning a defendant's competency should be considered, they are not dispositive. [C]oncerns of counsel alone are insufficient to establish doubt of a [petitioner's] competency, Mackovich, 209 F.3d at 1233 (further quotation omitted); see also Bryson v. Ward, 187 F.3d 1193, 1202 (10th Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 120 S. Ct. 1566 (2000). 24 The trial judge, who had ample opportunity to observe Mr. McGregor daily during trial, did not express any concerns that he was incompetent. See Van Woudenberg, 211 F.3d at 568; Foster, 182 F.3d at 1191. On several occasions during trial, in response to defense counsel's assertions that Mr. McGregor was having mental difficulties on a particular day, the trial judge specifically noted that he had observed Mr. McGregor on a number of different occasions prior to trial and that Mr. McGregor seemed the same that day as he always did. In addition, the trial judge had the opportunity to observe Mr. McGregor testify during an in camera suppression hearing, during which Mr. McGregor was able to understand the questions posed and respond accordingly. 25 Further, Mr. McGregor's conduct and demeanor at trial were not so bizarre and irrational as to raise a bona fide doubt that he was incompetent. Cf. United States v. Williams, 113 F.3d 1155, 1157-61 (10th Cir. 1997) (holding, in federal criminal appeal, trial court erred in failing to inquire into defendant's competence, where her hysteria, outbursts and disruptive behavior throughout course of trial raised bona fide doubt as to her competence). 26 Despite Mr. McGregor's lengthy history of mental illness and psychiatric treatment, therefore, he is unable to establish a bona fide doubt that he was incompetent at the time of his trial. See Walker, 167 F.3d at 1346-47. 3