Opinion ID: 2581274
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Is a Court-ordered Psychiatric Examination Mandated by the Constitution of the United States?

Text: Having found neither the criminal discovery statutes (§ 1054 et seq.) nor any other statute specifically authorizes the People to discovery in the form of a court-ordered mental examination of petitioner, we lastly determine whether the trial court's order is mandated by the Constitution of the United States. (§ 1054, subd. (e).) The People argue that [t]here is no constitutional impediment to such an examination. Both the United States Supreme Court and this Court have held that a defendant who proffers a defense based upon a mental condition waives his Fifth Amendment privilege against [compelled] self-incrimination ... to the extent necessary to permit a proper examination of that condition. The People also contend that a defendant's constitutional rights do not confer upon him the right to present testimony free from the legitimate demands of the adversarial system. (9) These arguments misapprehend the pertinent inquiry. Section 1054, subdivision (e) authorizes pretrial discovery if mandated by the Constitution of the United States. (Italics added.) That such discovery may be constitutionally permitted is insufficient. It is not petitioner's constitutional rights (such as his 5th Amend. rights) that dictate this result, it is the plain language of section 1054. We conclude nothing in the United States Constitution mandates the trial court's order that the People be granted access to petitioner for purposes of a mental examination by a prosecution expert on the ground that he intends to raise a mental defense.