Opinion ID: 1706565
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: did the trial court err in denying willie's motion for funds to obtain an expert and in allowing the state to cross-examine willie at a pre-trial mental competency hearing?

Text: Willie contends that he should not be required to choose between the vindication of his right to funds for an expert witness and the privilege against self-incrimination. Willie did request funds to employ his own psychiatrist after the trial court granted him a mental examination at the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, but the trial court did not rule on the motion. Generally, when a trial court has not ruled on a motion, a defendant is procedurally barred on appeal from claiming error. Pinkney v. State, 538 So.2d 329, 343 (Miss. 1988), vacated on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 110 S.Ct. 1800, 108 L.Ed.2d 931 (1990). Although procedurally barred, we address the issue on the merits and find that Willie had no right to funds for an expert because his examination at the state hospital met the constitutional mandates of Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). See Pinkney, 538 So.2d at 343. [A]n indigent criminal defendant does not have a constitutional right to a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own; rather he has a right only to a competent one. Lanier v. State, 533 So.2d 473, 481 (Miss. 1988) (citing Ake, 470 U.S. at 83, 105 S.Ct. at 1097, 84 L.Ed.2d at 66). Willie next argues that the State should not have been allowed to cross-examine Willie at the competency hearing about whether he understood at the time he robbed the store and at the hearing that it was wrong to kill someone. Willie objected to being cross-examined about whether he remembered what occurred inside the liquor store, but did not object to the State's questions about understanding right from wrong. Generally, a defendant is procedurally barred from raising an objection on appeal that is different than that raised at trial. See Thornhill, 561 So.2d at 1029. Despite the bar, we address this issue. We question the validity of the State's cross-examination of Willie during this competency hearing. When Willie indicated to the trial court that he believed his sanity at the time of the offense was to be a significant factor at trial, the court had a duty to assure Willie access to a competent psychiatrist. Lanier v. State, 533 So.2d 473, 480 (Miss. 1988) (citing Ake, supra ). The State, not being qualified to assess a defendant's sanity, should not have been allowed to question whether Willie knew right or wrong at the time of the killing or at the competency hearing. Although we find that the State's questions were improper, the State did not use this testimony at trial, Willie did not rely on a psychological defense, and Willie's sanity was not a significant factor at trial. Therefore, we conclude that the error was harmless. Cf. Satterwhite v. Texas, 486 U.S. 249, 257, 108 S.Ct. 1792, 1798, 100 L.Ed.2d 284 (1984).