Court Opinion

ID: 9472517
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:03:10.722823+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:42:59.604976
License: Public Domain

HATCHETT, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part:
I concur in the majority’s opinion except its holding that Cape’s psychiatric examination failed to constitute a “critical stage” of the proceedings. The majority’s holding is supported by a “critical stage” analysis contrary to binding precedent. Since the state failed to notify Cape’s attorney of the examination, it violated Cape’s sixth amendment right to counsel, and his conviction must be overturned.
The sixth amendment guarantees that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” The Supreme Court has held that the “right to counsel attaches at or after the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings against the defendant.” United States v. Gouveia, — U.S.-,-, 104 S.Ct. 2292, 2298, 81 L.Ed.2d 146 (1984). See also Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 398-99, 97 S.Ct. 1232, 1239-40, 51 L.Ed.2d 424 (1977); Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 688, 92 S.Ct. 1877, 1881, .32 L.Ed.2d 411 (1972). The Court has extended the sixth amendment guarantee of counsel to “certain ‘critical’ pretrial proceedings.” Gouveia, — U.S. at-, 104 S.Ct. at 2298; United States v. Ash, 413 U.S. 300, 309-10, 93 S.Ct. 2568, 2573-74, 37 L.Ed.2d 619 (1973); United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 223-27, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 1930-32, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967). In Wade, the Court explained its extension of the right to counsel to “critical” pretrial proceedings:
When the Bill of Rights was adopted, there was no organized police forces as we know them today. The accused confronted the prosecutor and the witnesses against him, and the evidence was mar-shalled, largely at the trial itself. In contrast, today’s law enforcement machinery involves critical confrontations of the accused by the prosecution at pretrial proceedings where the results might well settle the accused’s fate and reduce the trial itself to a mere formality. In recognition of these realities of modern criminal prosecution, our cases have construed the Sixth Amendment guarantee to apply to ‘critical’ stages of the proceedings.
Wade, 388 U.S. at 224, 87 S.Ct. at 1931. Certain “critical” pretrial proceedings obviate the necessity for a trial, and therefore, a lawyer’s presence and advice are essential at these pretrial stages. Wade, 388 U.S. at 235-36, 87 S.Ct. at 1936-37 (lawyer’s presence at the pretrial lineup would prevent unfairness and lessen the hazards of eyewitness identification); Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 U.S. 52, 54-55, 82 S.Ct. 157, 158-159, 7 L.Ed.2d 114 (1961) (presence of counsel at arraignment would have aided the accused, in knowing the available defenses and pleading intelligently). See also Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1, 8-10, 90 S.Ct. 1999, 2002-2004, 26 L.Ed.2d 387 (1970) (accused’s attorney’s presence at preliminary hearing protects accused against improper prosecution and aids accused’s preparation of a proper defense); Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 205, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 1202, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (attorney’s presence at interrogation could have protected the accused from prosecuto-rial overreaching).
In Wade, the Court articulated the analysis to determine whether a pretrial confrontation constitutes a “critical stage” requiring the presence of counsel. The Court stated, “[i]t calls upon us to analyze whether potential substantial prejudice to defendant’s rights inheres in the particular confrontation and the ability of counsel to help avoid that prejudice.” Wade, 388 U.S. at 227, 87 S.Ct. at 1932. The Court’s emphasis on curing potential prejudice reflects its concern that an accused might lose rights at a pretrial proceeding without the aid and advice of an attorney. See also United States v. Ash, 413 U.S. 300, 313, 93 S.Ct. *13052568, 2575, 37 L.Ed.2d 619 (1973) (a determination of a “critical stage” depends on “whether the accused required aid in coping with legal problems or assistance in meeting his adversary”).
A court-ordered psychiatric examination presents a situation where the attorney could benefit the accused in various ways. In Smith v. Estelle, 602 F.2d 694 (5th Cir. 1979), aff'd, 451 U.S. 454,101 S.Ct. 1866, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981), the Fifth Circuit explained the importance of the lawyer’s role in helping his client undergo a psychiatric examination. The court stated:
This is a vitally important decision, literally a life or death matter. It is a difficult decision even for an attorney; it requires a knowledge of what other evidence is available, of the particular psychiatrist’s biases and predilections, of possible alternative strategies____ For a lay defendant, who is likely to have no idea of the vagaries of expert testimony and its possible role in a capital trial, and who may well find it difficult to understand, even if he is told, whether a psychiatrist is examining his competence, his sanity, his long term dangerousness for purposes of sentencing, his short term dangerousness for purposes of civil commitment, his mental health for purposes of treatment, or some other thing, it is a hopelessly difficult decision.
Smith, 602 F.2d at 708-09.
Significant potential prejudice inheres to the accused when he submits to a psychiatric examination without prior consultation with his lawyer. Without the advice of his lawyer, the accused would fail to comprehend the benefits of the fifth amendment and would be susceptible to prosecutorial overreaching. Moreover, the accused may not understand the purposes behind the examination or the vagaries of expert testimony. The lawyer .could also explain the rationale for undergoing the examination to the accused. These reasons exemplify the potential prejudice which inheres to an accused in undergoing a psychiatric examination without prior consultation with his lawyer. Such a pretrial proceeding requires the advice and aid of a lawyer and, therefore, constitutes a “critical” pretrial proceeding. See Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 84 S.Ct. 1199, 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964); Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 U.S. 52, 82 S.Ct. 157, 7 L.Ed.2d 114 (1961).
Despite the obvious necessity for a lawyer to consult with the accused prior to the psychiatric examination, the majority holds that such a pretrial proceeding fails to constitute a “critical stage;” and therefore, Cape was not entitled to an attorney prior to the examination. In determining whether Cape’s psychiatric examination constituted a “critical stage,” the majority examines the actual use of the psychiatrist’s testimony at trial. The majority cites no cases supporting its “critical stage” analysis. Indeed, no cases exist supporting the majority’s analysis. The majority’s holding is contrary to the Court’s dictate in Wade requiring a court to examine a pretrial proceeding to determine if potential prejudice inheres to the accused from the confrontation. The litany of Supreme Court cases defining the parameters of the sixth amendment right to counsel emphatically holds that courts review the confrontation itself to see if the accused needs a lawyer’s aid.1 The use of the evidence gained from the confrontation is irrelevant to a determination of “critical stage.” 2 The majority, *1306today, however, refuses to follow Supreme Court precedent and fashions a novel approach to sixth amendment jurisprudence. I, therefore, respectfully dissent.

. In United States v. Ash, the Court summarized its cases articulating the "critical stage" analysis: “This review of the history and expansion of the Sixth Amendment counsel guarantee demonstrates that the test utilized by the Court has called for examination of the event in order to determine whether the accused required aid in coping with legal problems or assistance in meeting his adversary." Ash, 413 U.S. at 313, 93 S.Ct. at 2575.

. The use of the evidence gained from a pretrial proceeding would be useful in determining whether the sixth amendment violation constituted harmless error. See Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). The total denial of assistance of counsel, however, can never be harmless error. United States v. Cronic,-U.S.-,-n. 25, 104 S.Ct. 2039, 2047 n. 25, 80 L.Ed.2d 657 (1984) ("[t]he Court has uniformly found constitutional error without any showing of prejudice when *1306counsel was either totally absent, or prevented from assisting the accused during a critical stage of the proceeding."). See abo Strickland v. Washington, — U.S. -, -, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (reaffirming that total denial of the assistance of counsel cannot constitute harmless error).