Opinion ID: 787563
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Howard's Competency to Plead Guilty

Text: 23 To establish that his counsel provided ineffective assistance in light of Howard's alleged incompetency, Howard must first demonstrate that he was indeed incompetent to plead guilty. See Sandgathe v. Maass, 314 F.3d 371, 379 (9th Cir.2002) (affirming district court's denial of defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim because defendant had offered no evidence for his asserted incompetence to plead guilty as a result of taking psychotropic drugs). 24 Competence is defined as the ability to understand the proceedings and to assist counsel in preparing a defense. See Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960) (per curiam); see also Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 396, 113 S.Ct. 2680, 125 L.Ed.2d 321 (1993). When analyzing competence to plead guilty, we look to whether a defendant has `the ability to make a reasoned choice among the alternatives presented to him.' Miles v. Stainer, 108 F.3d 1109, 1112 (9th Cir.1997) (quoting Chavez v. United States, 656 F.2d 512, 518 (9th Cir.1981)). This standard is no higher than the Dusky standard for competence to stand trial. Id. (citing Godinez, 509 U.S. at 402, 113 S.Ct. 2680). 25 Howard argues that the Percocet/Percodan rendered him incompetent to make a reasoned judgment about whether to accept the guilty plea offer, and his lawyer should not have allowed him to do so. In evaluating whether Howard has set forth enough to warrant an evidentiary hearing on his claim and whether the record rebuts his claim, we are guided by several cases in which § 2255 petitioners moved to set aside their convictions on voluntariness grounds, claiming incompetence due to the ingestion of drugs before pleading guilty. See, e.g., Sasser v. United States, 452 F.2d 1104, 1106 (9th Cir.1972) (affirming district court's denial of § 2255 petition without holding a hearing); Lopez v. United States, 439 F.2d 997, 999-1000 (9th Cir.1971) (reversing and remanding for evidentiary hearing). Although these cases involved the direct issue of competence to plead guilty rather than an indirect claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, they are instructive as to what Howard must allege to establish that he was incompetent, a predicate to demonstrating that his counsel was ineffective. 26 In Lopez, the petitioner alleged that the prison authorities had given him a prescribed chemical cocktail consisting of phenobarbitol, dilantin and musline on the day of the plea. 439 F.2d at 999. He claimed that consequently he was docile and more prone to the suggestions put to him by counsel, felt numb and stuporous and was unable to fully appreciate his acts. Id. The district court denied this claim without hearing, relying on a psychiatrist's report, the transcript of the plea hearing at which the defendant was examined with great care, an affidavit from trial counsel stating his belief that Lopez was competent and the trial judge's personal observations of the petitioner at the time of the plea. Id. at 998. We reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing, concluding: 27 Neither the psychiatrist's report, nor counsel's affidavit, nor the record of the arraignment, plea and sentence, nor the court's personal observation of Lopez at plea can be taken as conclusively showing that Lopez is entitled to no relief. They are evidentiary, but not conclusive. Id. at 1000(citations omitted). 28 In contrast, the petitioner in Sasser made the bald assertion that he had been under the influence of Librium, a tranquilizer, at the time he entered the guilty plea and that he answered the court's questions in the colloquy the way he was instructed to by defense counsel because of the tranquilizer's effects. 452 F.2d at 1105-06. We looked to the case-by-case rule in other circuits that a hearing is not required where no evidentiary facts are alleged to support bald allegations of incompetence, but that a hearing is required where the petitioner raises detailed and controverted issues of fact. Id. at 1106 (citing, inter alia, United States v. Miranda, 437 F.2d 1255, 1258 (2d Cir.1971)). Applying this rule, we concluded that an evidentiary hearing was not required because Sasser had not alleged facts indicating how he could have received the tranquilizer while in custody. 29 The First Circuit has adopted a similar rule in the context of waiver of the right to be present at trial, relying on our ruling in Sasser. See Dziurgot v. Luther, 897 F.2d 1222, 1226 (1st Cir.1990) (per curiam) ([W]here a petitioner's allegations of drug-induced waiver are conclusory or inherently incredible, certainly the district judge need not incur the time and expense of further proceedings. In that situation the judge has the discretion to dismiss the petition without a hearing based on the judge's personal recollection that the waiver appeared knowing, intelligent and voluntary. (citing Sasser, 452 F.2d at 1104, 1106)). Dziurgot claimed that his waiver was not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily made because he was under the influence of serious prescribed pain-killing drugs, Percodan and Demerol, at the time of the waiver. Id. at 1223. The First Circuit noted that Dziurgot's allegations were by no means conclusory, or inherently incredible — particularly because there was no dispute that Dziurgot was taking the prescribed painkillers at the time of his waiver. Id. at 1225. It also held that the district court could not rely almost solely on its own observations of Dziurgot to reject his claims and thus remanded for an evidentiary hearing. Id. at 1225-26. 30 These decisions suggest that bald, conclusory or inherently incredible assertions of drug use do not require an evidentiary hearing, but once a petitioner asserts a more detailed claim, about which there are controverted facts, an evidentiary hearing must be granted. We now make explicit what is implicit in Sasser and Lopez. When a § 2255 petitioner's claim of incompetence due to the ingestion of drugs is conclusory or inherently incredible, a district court has the discretion to dismiss the petition without a hearing. When the allegations move beyond bald, conclusory or incredible assertions, however, a hearing is required unless the petition, files and record conclusively demonstrate that the petitioner was competent to plead guilty. Specific, credible evidence that an individual was under the influence of powerful narcotic drugs suffices to move a claim beyond a bald assertion of incompetence. See Dziurgot, 897 F.2d at 1225. 31 Here, as in Dziurgot, there is no dispute that Howard was under the influence of a strong painkiller during his plea hearing. Howard told the district judge during his plea hearing that he was taking Percocet/Percodan, which the judge recognized was strong medication. Howard further explained before the district court, and again on appeal, that he was taking the drug to relieve the pain he was suffering after two surgical procedures resulting from severe leg injuries he sustained during a motorcycle accident. Clearly, Howard has alleged facts indicating how he came to be under the influence of drugs at the time of his plea. Sasser, 452 F.2d at 1106. 32 Moreover, Howard alleged under oath in his § 2255 petition that he was incapable of understanding the nature and consequences of his plea because he was under the influence of a narcotic drug. He further elaborated in his initial memorandum in support of his petition that because of his ingestion of Percocet/Percodan, he suffered from mental clouding, was so befuddled he was unable to count, was incoherent and almost devoid of sensible meaning in his speech, was not in full possession of his mental faculties, was narcoticized and did not fully understand the nature and consequences of his agreement. 6 These allegations, if true, would establish that Howard was not competent and they are not conclusory or inherently incredible. Thus they are sufficient to state a claim. 33 We next turn to whether the petition, files and record conclusively disprove Howard's claim of incompetency. The district court found that the record demonstrated Howard's competence. This finding presumably was based upon the court's review of the record of the plea hearing and its observations of Howard during the plea colloquy. The record does not conclusively establish that Howard was competent, however. 34 First, Howard said then and alleges now that he had taken Percocet/Percodan. The district court made no adverse finding suggesting that he had not taken some amount of the narcotic painkiller. Both Percocet and Percodan contain the active ingredient oxycodone, an opioid with attributes similar to morphine and which may impair the mental and physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks. PHYSICIAN'S DESK REFERENCE 1245-46 (2004). 7 The most frequently observed adverse reactions include light-headedness, dizziness, sedation, nausea and vomiting; other adverse reactions include euphoria and dysphoria. Id. at 1246. It is at least arguable that a normal dose leading to some of these reactions would have seriously interfered with Howard's ability to make a reasoned choice among the alternatives presented to him. See Miles, 108 F.3d at 1112; Dziurgot, 897 F.2d at 1225. The district court — although acknowledging the pretty tough nature of the drug — did not inquire about the dosage of Percocet/Percodan, when Howard had taken it, whether Howard had mixed the Percocet/Percodan with non-narcotic drugs and, most importantly, its effects on Howard's competence. Absent such information, we cannot conclusively determine whether or not the Percocet/Percodan adversely affected Howard's competency to plead guilty. 35 Howard's behavior at the hearing — to which the government points as conclusively demonstrating Howard's competency — does not resolve the question. The hearing transcript reveals Howard at times appearing to be as befuddled as he now claims to have been; at others, he seems to have been in full possession of his faculties. We thus cannot say on the basis of the hearing transcript that Howard was competent to enter a guilty plea. Nor is the trial judge's recollection of a petitioner's performance at a plea hearing conclusive in determining whether the petitioner was competent to enter a plea. See Sanders v. United States, 373 U.S. 1, 20, 83 S.Ct. 1068, 10 L.Ed.2d 148 (1963) (That the judge may have thought that [petitioner] acted with intelligence and understanding in responding to the judge's inquiries cannot `conclusively show,' as the statute requires, that there is no merit in his present claim.); see also Lopez, 439 F.2d at 1000 (holding that court's personal observation of § 2255 petitioner at plea hearing, combined with other evidence, did not conclusively foreclose relief). 36 The government's argument that the district court had the opportunity to observe Howard at the suppression hearing held four days before the plea discussion fails for the same reason. That the judge may have thought that Howard acted with intelligence and understanding at that hearing is insufficient to show conclusively that Howard's claim regarding the later plea hearing lacks merit. Sanders, 373 U.S. at 20; Lopez, 439 F.2d at 1000. 37 The record reveals that Howard was under the influence of a powerful narcotic drug that could have affected his cognition; the only question is whether it actually did. That he could have been rendered incompetent, and specifically and credibly claims to have been so, is sufficient to tip the scales in favor of an evidentiary hearing on this aspect of his claim.