Court Opinion

ID: 9465306
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:42:13.989604+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:39:06.027833
License: Public Domain

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge,
concurring:
I add a few words with respect to Part 11(c) of the opinion, concerning “waiver theory.” Norris was found competent to stand trial and the jury found him sane at the time he committed the offense. He was properly advised of his appellate rights. Substantial evidence that his mental condition had changed after completion of the trial was presented neither to the state court nor to the habeas court. Therefore, the habeas court correctly denied relief.
My brethren observe, “[T]here is no requirement under either the sixth amendment or the fourteenth amendment that in addition to knowing his appellate rights, a defendant must also knowingly and intelligently make a decision not to appeal before it can be said that the defendant is not entitled to appellate review of a criminal *138conviction.” I concur fully in this statement.
However presented, as a claim of ineffective counsel or waiver, the issue would be more difficult if a defendant who was mentally competent at the time of trial became completely deranged within the time for appeal so that, for example, he could not even consult with his counsel. I have reservations whether he could be said to have acted knowingly and intelligently after he had ceased to be mentally capable, or that a lawyer who knew of the situation would be providing effective counsel if he failed either to appeal or take other appropriate action. Therefore I would postpone to another day judgment on whether such a defendant was denied a constitutional right if no appeal on his behalf was taken; and I would at this time intimate no opinion concerning the principles that would apply if such a change in a defendant’s competency occurred after the trial had ended but before the time for appeal had elapsed. Assuming evidence of such a metamorphosis, the final decision might turn on what had happened in the interim with respect to such matters as his consultation with counsel, his actions before the loss of capacity and other relevant factors.