Opinion ID: 1705889
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Adequate Mental Work-up.

Text: ¶ 19. Spicer asserts that his attorneys were similarly ineffective in failing to present evidence of mental impairment as a mitigating factor at the penalty phase. As the State points out, on June 28, 2002, counsel filed a Motion for Determination of Defendant's Mental Competency. The motion was granted, and Spicer was sent to the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, Mississippi. The summary report of the results from Spicer's forensic mental evaluation under the heading Forensic Opinions stated: We are unanimous in our opinion that Mr. Spicer has the sufficient present ability to consult with his attorney with a reasonable degree of rational understanding in the preparation of his defense, and that he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the nature and object of the legal proceedings against him. We are unanimous in our opinion that Mr. Spicer would have known the nature and quality of his alleged acts at the time of the alleged offense, and that he would have known at that time that those alleged acts would be wrong. Under the heading Discussion, the report further states: We are aware that Mr. Spicer has received mental health treatment in the past and that he is currently prescribed psychiatric medications for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. In our opinion, Mr. Spicer was not experiencing symptoms of any major mental disorder at the time of the alleged offense. Although, at the time of our evaluation, he appeared to be making a great effort to represent himself as having psychotic symptoms, limited intellectual abilities, and symptoms of amnesia, he did not seem to exhibit any credible symptoms of a major mental disorder, he seems to be of at least low average intelligence, and he easily recalled details regarding his personal history. During our evaluation, he admitted to abusing several substances at the time of the alleged offense. It is our opinion that both his past behavior and his current mental state are best accounted for by the presence of a severe substance abuse disorder. Mr. Spicer had no difficulty communicating with us during the evaluation interview. He should have no difficulty conferring rationally with his defense attorney, should he so choose. ¶ 20. Following the report, Spicer's attorneys filed a Motion for Further Examination to Determine Defendant's Mental Competency, which the trial court denied. Spicer's counsel were effective in seeking a mental evaluation of Spicer, and even attempted to acquire additional testing for their client. Some of the results from Spicer's evaluation arguably could amount to mitigating evidence, such as the acknowledgment by the doctors that Spicer previously had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, Spicer's mental evaluation revealed that Spicer was malingering. This issue will be more fully developed below during the discussion of Spicer's Ground V. ¶ 21. There is a presumption that counsel's conduct is reasonable and professional and that decisions made are strategic. Murray v. Maggio, 736 F.2d 279, 282 (5th Cir.1984). In the Addendum to Outpatient Evaluation Results of Psychological Testing, provided by the doctors at the Mississippi State Hospital, Spicer's doctors summarized him as: . . . a 37-year-old, divorced, Caucasian man from George County charged with capital murder. Test results and clinical observations suggest that the defendant attempted to malinger memory and cognitive deficits on measures of memory, intelligence, achievement, and mental status, perhaps in an attempt to mitigate his legal problems. This description of Spicer, if used by the State to rebut Spicer's claims of mental problems, could have been damaging in the eyes of the jury. Any decision not to use Spicer's mental evaluation in mitigation can be presumed strategic, and Spicer has failed to overcome that presumption.