Opinion ID: 2507985
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Competence to Plead Guilty or Stand Trial Prior to Penalty Trial

Text: Defendant pleaded guilty to all charges and admitted the special circumstance allegations on August 28, 1992. Two days before defendant entered his plea, the court conferred in a closed session with trial counsel and defendant present. During the closed session, counsel told the court that defendant wanted to receive the death penalty and that after the entry of his guilty plea, defendant would seek to have the penalty imposed. Counsel informed the court that if he did not consent to defendant's proposed plea, defendant had threatened to remove him as counsel. As evidence of defendant's incompetence, counsel introduced evidence of his prior criminal activity and his erratic behavior while incarcerated, including his attacks on Deputy Dexter at the Martinez Detention Facility, and his apparent hoarding of medication for an alleged planned future suicide attempt. After considering the evidence, the court denied the requested competency hearing and accepted defendant's guilty plea. The court observed: I have had a chance to consider this matter both on Wednesday and again today, and consider the demeanor of the defendant, the manner in which he is approaching this. It is not an easy thing for anybody here, but the Court is finding the defendant competent. I want to make that clear. I have no reason whatsoever to question his competency to enter into this. Defendant contends the court did not fully consider his propensity to commit violent acts or his desire to receive the death penalty when it made its competency finding. Indeed, defendant asserts that a capital defendant whose stated goal is lethal injection will never be in a position to assist his trial counsel in presenting a defense. Defendant contends that his death wish, together with his past violent behavior, attempt to hoard drugs for a suicide attempt, and history of psychiatric treatment, indicated that he was incompetent and incapable of assisting in his own defense, and required the court to order an independent psychiatric evaluation before finding him competent to plead guilty. We disagree. We have held that a defendant's preference for the death penalty and overall death wish does not alone amount to substantial evidence of incompetence or evidence requiring the court to order an independent psychiatric evaluation. ( People v. Guzman (1988) 45 Cal.3d 915, 963-965, 248 Cal.Rptr. 467, 755 P.2d 917.) We have also held that a defendant's testimony as to his preference for the death penalty does not render the ensuing death judgment constitutionally unreliable. ( People v. Nakahara (2003) 30 Cal.4th 705, 719, 134 Cal.Rptr.2d 223, 68 P.3d 1190.) In addition, defendant's propensity for violence, hoarding of medication for an alleged suicide attempt, and history of psychiatric treatment do not indicate he was incompetent at the time he pleaded guilty. ( People v. Grant (1988) 45 Cal.3d 829, 859, 248 Cal.Rptr. 444, 755 P.2d 894.) Thus, although defendant's prior violent acts and other bizarre behavior would lead us to agree he has violent propensities, and may even harbor a death wish, they do not raise doubts that he was incapable of assisting in his own defense or otherwise competent to plead guilty, admit the special circumstance allegations against him, or stand trial. ( Ibid. ) We also reject defendant's claim that the trial court improperly relied exclusively upon defendant's demeanor during court appearances in order to determine his competency and should have ordered a psychiatric evaluation prior to finding him competent. Although a court may not rely solely on its observations of a defendant in the courtroom if there is substantial evidence of incompetence, the court's observations and objective opinion do become important when no substantial evidence exists that the defendant is less than competent to plead guilty or stand trial. (See People v. Castro (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 1402, 1416, 93 Cal.Rptr.2d 770.) Here, the court specifically stated that in its discretion and under all the evidence, including, but not limited to, observations of defendant's demeanor, it had no reason whatsoever to question [defendant's] competence to enter into [the guilty plea]. When a defendant has not presented substantial evidence to indicate he was incompetent, and the court's declaration of a doubt is therefore discretionary, its brief reference to the defendant's demeanor is not error. (See, e.g., Pate, supra, 383 U.S. at pp. 385-386, 86 S.Ct. 836; Welch, supra, 20 Cal.4th at pp. 741-742, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 203, 976 P.2d 754.)