Court Opinion

ID: 9948290
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-06 20:00:40.275228+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:29:26.492886
License: Public Domain

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
                                    File Name: 24a0101n.06

                                        Case No. 23-5470

                             UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                  FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
                                                                                       FILED
                                                                                     Mar 06, 2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                              )                     KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk
                                                       )
       Plaintiff-Appellee,                             )
                                                       )        ON APPEAL FROM THE
v.                                                     )        UNITED STATES DISTRICT
                                                       )        COURT FOR THE WESTERN
ANTONIO TAYLOR,                                        )        DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
       Defendant-Appellant.                            )
                                                       )                             OPINION
                                                       )

Before: SILER, COLE, and MATHIS, Circuit Judges.

       COLE, Circuit Judge. After the district court found that he was competent to stand trial,

Antonio Taylor pleaded guilty to five offenses related to assault, kidnapping, and possession of a

stolen firearm. Taylor argues that, in making its legal competency determination, the district court

gave improper weight to one psychologist’s testimony and consequently disregarded evidence in

the record of Taylor’s personality disorders. Because the district court’s decision does not amount

to clear error, we affirm.

                                                I.

       On June 17, 2021, while Taylor was on supervised release for a previous conviction, a

federal probation officer visited Taylor at his home for a check-in visit. During that visit, Taylor

assaulted the probation officer, took her employer-issued gun, and struck her in the forehead with

the gun. Taylor then dragged her to his bedroom where he raped her repeatedly for approximately

three hours. Taylor eventually allowed the probation officer to leave, but he kept her gun. On
Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

August 17, 2021, a grand jury in the Western District of Tennessee indicted Taylor with assaulting

a federal officer, kidnapping a federal officer, knowingly possessing a stolen gun, being a felon in

possession of a gun, and using a gun during a crime of violence. (Indictment, R. 2, Page ID 4−6.)

       On September 7, 2021, Taylor’s counsel moved for a mental competency evaluation

pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 4241 and 4242. A yearlong dispute over Taylor’s competency followed,

resulting in two evaluations, a lengthy competency hearing, and two change-of-plea hearings. We

briefly summarize the relevant parts of the record regarding this dispute below.

       At the behest of Taylor’s defense counsel, Dr. Megan Avery, a licensed psychologist,

conducted the first competency evaluation on October 1, 2021. Dr. Avery’s evaluation consisted

of a two-hour clinical interview with Taylor, her observations of Taylor speaking with his counsel,

clinical tests related to mental functioning and academic skills, and a test designed to detect the

feigning or exaggeration of mental disorders. Dr. Avery also interviewed Taylor’s mother, Tonya

Taylor, and reviewed certain records of Taylor’s medical history. On November 24, 2021, Dr.

Avery completed her report and concluded that Taylor was not competent to stand trial. Dr. Avery

diagnosed Taylor with “Schizoaffective Disorder,” “Antisocial Personality Disorder,”

“malingering,” and alcohol and cocaine use disorders. (Id. at PageID 62.) Her report defined

“malingering” as “the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated physical or

psychological symptoms, motivated by external incentives such as evading criminal prosecution.”

(Id. at PageID 63) Notably, Dr. Avery’s report also stated that “[m]alingering interfered with a

completely accurate assessment of [Taylor’s] competency,” and that “[a] competency study in a

prison setting (i.e., in the Bureau of Prisons) will also allow for more observation to delineate

which symptoms are psychosis and which are attributed to malingering.” (Id. at PageID 64.)

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Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

        The government requested a second competency evaluation on December 2, 2021, which

the court granted. Dr. Lisa Feldman, a forensic psychologist, observed Taylor for a three-month

period at the BOP Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida, from January to April 2022. Dr.

Feldman’s evaluation similarly included a detailed review of Taylor’s medical records, general

background, and criminal history. And Dr. Feldman also reviewed the “extensive records”

available to her from the BOP’s “Psychology Services” team that had repeatedly evaluated Taylor

during a previous five-and-a-half-year period of incarceration starting in 2015. (Id. at PageID

144.)

        In contrast to Dr. Avery, Dr. Feldman was not able to interview Taylor because he refused

to participate in an intake evaluation or submit to testing. (Id.) But Dr. Feldman’s psychological

team and other members of the BOP correctional staff continued to have contacts with Taylor and

observed him during this three-month period, which was done to “obtain a broader understanding

of [Taylor’s] adaptive and interpersonal skills.” (Id.) Dr. Feldman issued her report on April 29,

2022, concluding that Taylor was competent to stand trial. (Id. at Page ID 139, 154) (stating

“[Taylor] demonstrated no active mental states that would interfere with his rational understanding

of the proceedings against him or his ability to assist toward his defense, if he was motivated to do

so”.) She also diagnosed Taylor with malingering and antisocial personality disorder. With

respect to malingering in particular, Dr. Feldman explained that “[t]hroughout the evaluation, Mr.

Taylor’s behavior appeared purposeful and under his volitional control.” (Id. at 154)

        The district court conducted a competency hearing on August 18, 2022, where it heard

testimony from Dr. Avery, Dr. Feldman, Taylor’s mother, and Taylor’s aunt, Ladaria Taylor. The

government presented supplemental evidence that they argued demonstrated Taylor’s competency,

including jail phone records where Taylor expressed to his mother that he needed a lawyer, records

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Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

of Taylor’s requests for medical treatment while incarcerated, and records of Taylor’s previous

appearances in court where he seemingly understood the nature of the proceedings.

       Both psychologists’ testimony largely paralleled the conclusions found in their reports.

Importantly, Dr. Avery clarified that Taylor “probably” was not competent to stand trial, but she

could not “be 100 percent certain . . . because of the malingering. And [the] next step would be to

refer [Taylor] to the [BOP] for a more extensive study.” (Competency Hr’g Trans., R. 62 at PageID

236.) Regarding the other witnesses, Tonya and Ladaria Taylor’s collective testimony reflected

that, when he was as a minor, Taylor (1) was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, possible

schizophrenia, and a learning disability; (2) had general behavioral issues related to his diagnoses

that resulted in frequent altercations—often physical—with other children and family members;

and (3) was incarcerated on multiple occasions, which was traumatic for him and only intensified

his poor behavior. Taylor’s mother also noted that Taylor’s mental instability may stem from a

brain injury he sustained during a suicide attempt at age 20; specifically, that “oxygen was cut off

from [Taylor’s] brain,” and she was told that he would “never be the same mentally.” (Id. at Page

ID, 253)

       The district court then found that Taylor was competent to stand trial. Taylor thereafter

pleaded guilty to all five counts in the indictment. Taylor now brings this appeal.

                                                II.

       The competency determination “is a question of fact [that] we review for clear error.”

United States v. Dubrule, 822 F.3d 866, 875 (6th Cir. 2016) (quotation marks omitted). The bar

for incompetency is high, and we will not reverse the district court’s finding unless “on the entire

evidence [we are] left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.”

Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 573 (1985) (quoting United States v. Gypsum

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Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

Co. 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948)). As such, “[i]n the absence of such a definite and firm conviction,

we cannot reverse the district court’s findings—even if ‘[we] would have weighed the evidence

differently.’” Dubrule, 822 F.3d at 875 (alteration in original) (quoting Anderson, 470 U.S. at 574).

                                                 III.

       Taylor entered his guilty plea after the district court found that he was competent to stand

trial for the five counts in the indictment. See Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 397−98 (1993).

To be competent to stand trial, the defendant must possess (1) “a sufficient present ability to

consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding” and (2) “a rational as

well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.” Dubrule, 822 F.3d at 875 (quoting

Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960)). In making this determination, a court should

consider evidence including that of “irrational behavior, the defendant’s demeanor at trial and any

prior medical opinion concerning competence to stand trial.” United States v. Prigmore, 15 F.4th

768, 776 (6th Cir. 2021) (quotation marks omitted).

       Here, given the district court’s reliance on multiple portions of the record to make its factual

determinations, “[w]e see no error in the district court’s competency finding, let alone clear error.”

Id. at 776. Prior to making its competency determination, the district court conducted an extensive

hearing where it considered the testimony of two psychologists, discussed those psychologists’

competency evaluations at length, and heard testimony from Taylor’s family members. The

district court also considered supplemental evidence that was relevant to Taylor’s competency,

including records of Taylor’s jail phone calls, his requests for medical treatment while

incarcerated, his previous appearances in court, and a competency evaluation performed by Dr.

Ron Nieberding—a clinical psychologist—that found that Taylor was competent to stand trial for

a felon-in-possession charge in 2015.

                                                -5-
Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

        The district court’s order addressed both psychologists’ reports and other portions of the

record to highlight that Taylor (1) expressed a need for a lawyer over the phone, (2) stated that his

“charges [were] ‘bad’,” (3) discussed the severity of kidnapping and sex charges with his lawyer

in front of Dr. Avery during the evaluation, (4) asked jurisdictional questions, and (5) “articulate[d]

the role of the judge and defendant . . . [and] also expressed that this attorney’s role is to ‘represent

him.’” (Sealed Order, R.67, PageID 690−93). Taylor also expressed an understanding of the

specific charges against him and discussed the underlying facts of the case in previous status

conferences and court appearances. This cumulative evidence, along with Dr. Feldman’s report,

permitted the court to conclude that Taylor had a sufficient present ability to consult with his

lawyer, and likewise had a rational understanding of the legal proceedings against him. (Sealed

Order, R.67, PageID 691.) The facts emphasized here closely resemble the types of evidence our

precedent has instructed district courts to review when making this determination. See United

States v. Miller, 531 F.3d 340, 348 (6th Cir. 2008).

        Taylor’s primary rebuttal is that “the District Court based its [competency determination]

almost exclusively on Dr. Feldman’s opinion that [Taylor] was malingering,” and he consequently

asserts that the district court “disregarded/discounted [his] severe personality disorders.”

(Appellant Br. at 37−39.) His argument, however, fails on both legal and factual grounds.

        First, as the district court acknowledged, the presence of a mental illness alone does not

categorically mean that a defendant is mentally incompetent to stand trial. (Sealed Order, R. 67,

PageID 685−86) (citing United States v. Davis, 93 F.3d 1286, 1290 (“[I]t does not follow that

because a person is mentally ill he is incompetent to stand trial.”)). Taylor’s briefing focuses almost

exclusively on his personality disorder diagnoses.          He connects these disorders to certain

challenging behaviors—such as his “disorganized behavior and speech,” “violent verbal

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Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

outbursts,” and the “physical altercations” resulting from his outbursts—to argue that these

behaviors prove legal incompetence. (Appellant Br. at 50, 56, 59.) But “[o]ur caselaw is replete

with instances of criminal defendants who exhibit[t] bizarre behavior . . . [but] nonetheless me[e]t

the Constitution’s competency standard.” Prigmore, 15 F.4th at 776–77 (collecting cases). Further

undermining what Taylor argues here, “[i]n some of those cases, that behavior [also] apparently

stemmed from severe personality disorders.” Id. at 777 (reiterating that “a severe personality

disorder is not alone sufficient to make one legally incompetent to stand trial”).

       Second, as explained in detail above, Dr. Feldman’s conclusion that Taylor was

malingering was only one factor in the district court’s competency determination, and the

malingering finding was not, as Taylor argues, the linchpin of the court’s analysis. (See generally

Sealed Order, R. 67, PageID 687−94.) True enough, there are several places in the record

suggesting that Taylor was exaggerating certain aspects of his mental health and history to attain

favorable treatment and “avoid legal repercussions.” The district court was correct to highlight

that (1) “[p]ast medical providers have also diagnosed [Taylor] with malingering,” (2) “[b]oth

psychologists testified that Defendant’s malingering [was] intentional,” (3) Taylor also exhibited

an “exaggerated testing approach” when previously incarcerated, and (4) there were

“inconsistencies between what [Taylor] told Dr. Avery during her evaluation and previous BOP

reports . . . [,] indicat[ing] that [he] was engaging in deliberate behavior to appear more impaired

during his evaluation with Dr. Avery.” (R. 67, PageID 682, 689.)

       Taylor again attempts to rebut this evidence by arguing that his mental health diagnoses

overshadow any evidence of malingering, and that Dr. Feldman’s analysis is centered on “a

[f]aulty [p]remise.” (Appellant Br. at 40−46.) This argument also fails, however, because the

district court was entitled to give more weight to Dr. Feldman’s opinion and report. See, e.g.,

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Case No. 23-5470, United States v. Taylor

United States v. Mathis, 738 F.3d 719, 740 (6th Cir. 2013) (holding no clear error where “the court

thoughtfully considered and weighed the testimony from the parties’ experts, finding the

government’s [expert] more persuasive”). Indeed, Dr. Feldman’s “opinion was based on a more

extensive evaluation of [Taylor], and her conclusions were more thoroughly [supported]” by the

BOP’s three-month examination than Dr. Avery’s report. See Dubrule, 822 F.3d at 876. As such,

“[o]n review of th[is] record, we cannot say that this finding was clearly erroneous.” Id.

                                                 IV.

       On this record, the district court did not clearly err in finding that Taylor was competent to

stand trial for the offenses for which he was indicted. Taylor’s challenge to his guilty plea therefore

fails. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm.

                                                 -8-