Opinion ID: 729727
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State Court Finding of Competence

Text: 8 James claims that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated because, contrary to the determination made by the state district court, he was incompetent to stand trial. We affirm the district court's dismissal of this claim. The Sixth Amendment protects incompetent persons from standing trial. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378 (1966); Speedy v. Wyrick, 748 F.2d 481, 484 (8th Cir. 1984). A state court's finding that an accused is competent to stand trial enjoys a presumption of correctness. Demosthenes v. Baal, 495 U.S. 731, 735 (1990) (per curiam); Davis v. Wyrick, 766 F.2d 1197, 1201 (8th Cir. 1985). In determining whether a defendant is competent, [c]riminal law presumes that individuals are competent . . . and a finding of competence, once made, continues to be presumptively correct until some good reason to doubt it is presented. Garrett v. Groose, 99 F.3d 283, 286(8th Cir.1996) (citing Smith v. Armontrout, 865 F.2d 1502, 1506 (8th Cir. 1988) (en banc)). The deference given to a state court's finding of competence remains unless the reviewing court finds that the applicant did not receive a full, fair, and adequate hearing in the State court proceeding or that the applicant was otherwise denied due process of law in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C. Section(s) 2254(d)(6)-(7) (1994); Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 544-45 (1981). 9 To succeed on his due process claim, James must present clear evidence showing that the state court's determination of his competence was wrong. Id. at 550. James has not shown that the court's finding of his competence is unsupported by the record or that either of the section 2254(d) conditions has been met. The court heard testimony from two psychiatrists, who, relying on their examinations of James more than nineteen weeks earlier, disagreed about James's competence to stand trial. The trial court determined that James was competent to stand trial after observing James and hearing the testimony of the psychiatrists. 10 The reliability of a competency determination is not shaken where there is no indication that there [is] any new evidence to be presented on the competency issue at the time of trial. Davis, 766 F.2d at 1201 (holding that a ten-month-old competency hearing report establishing that the defendant was competent was reliable). James's mere assertion that his condition required an evaluation closer in time to the trial does not provide the required evidence that the record on which the court relied was unreliable. Furthermore, the results of Dr. Frederickson's evaluation, James's conduct at his arraignment, and his appearance at trial fairly supported the trial court's determination that James was competent to stand trial. See Weisberg v. Minnesota, 29 F.3d 1271, 1278 (8th Cir. 1994).