Opinion ID: 2639799
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: ¶ 4 Heddrick's appeal arises out of two separate alleged criminal acts. Clerk's Papers King County Super. Ct. No. 04-1-12703-0(1CP) at 1; Clerk's Papers King County Super. Ct. No. 05-1-08886-5(2CP) at 1. In 2004, Heddrick was charged with felony harassment. While awaiting trial on that charge, Heddrick was allegedly involved in an altercation with jailhouse staff, leading to the subsequent charge of custodial assault. ¶ 5 Concerns about Heddrick's competency arose several times as his cases proceeded. In the felony harassment matter, the issue of Heddrick's competency arose first on September 8, 2004. 1CP at 17. The trial court found Heddrick incompetent and ordered him to Western State Hospital (WSH) for 90 days. In January 2005, the trial court found that Heddrick had been restored to competency. Id. at 6-7. ¶ 6 In July 2005, newly appointed defense counsel Tracy Lapps raised concerns again about Heddrick's competency. Pet. for Review at 3; see 1CP at 38. In response, the trial court orally ordered a new evaluation by Dr. White, an expert retained by the defense. Report of Proceedings (RP) (July 27, 2005) at 6. Also, the court directed that a written report be prepared by a staff psychologist at WSH and circulated to the parties. 1CP at 40. ¶ 7 Near the due date for production of the report, defense counsel informed the court that Dr. White had found Heddrick competent. She further informed the court that she declined production of Dr. White's report due to cost concerns. As a result, the WSH staff psychologist's report was not entered into evidence. [1] Counsel thereby withdrew Heddrick's competency motion. After the harassment trial concluded, a jury found Heddrick guilty on October 12, 2005. Id. at 69. ¶ 8 While in custody in the King County jail awaiting trial for felony harassment, Heddrick allegedly assaulted one of the two officers assigned to move him to another cell. The State charged Heddrick with custodial assault. After substituting for a previous attorney, Marcus Naylor began to represent Heddrick in his assault case. Once competency concerns arose in the felony harassment matter, the trial judge in the custodial assault case decided to track competency procedures with the felony harassment case. State v. Heddrick, noted at 140 Wash.App. 1019, 2007 WL 2411354, at , 2CP at 7. ¶ 9 Heddrick's custodial assault case was transferred to Judge Mary Yu, who was presiding over his felony harassment case. When Judge Yu signed the competency order on October 10, 2005, in Heddrick's assault case, she evidently did not enter an equivalent order in the harassment case. 2CP at 8. Moreover, Judge Yu issued the ruling outside of the presence of Heddrick's counsel in the custodial assault case. Id. (lacking signature of Naylor). The only counsel present was Lapps, Heddrick's appointed attorney in the felony harassment case. Lapps declined to sign the order of competency in the custodial assault matter. Id. The court simply found Heddrick competent after his appointed attorney in the felony harassment matter, Lapps, informed the court that Dr. White found Heddrick to be competent. RP (Oct. 11, 2005) at 15. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that Heddrick received adequate process. Heddrick, 140 Wash.App. 1019, 2007 WL 2411354, at -5. We granted Heddrick's petition for review. 163 Wash.2d 1039, 187 P.3d 270 (2008).