Colbert v. State, F-80-419

Decision Date05 November 1982
Docket NumberNo. F-80-419,F-80-419
Citation654 P.2d 624,1982 OK CR 174
PartiesCharles COLBERT, Jr., Appellant, v. The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee.
CourtUnited States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

Charles Colbert, Jr., appellant, was convicted of Manslaughter in the First Degree in Carter County District Court Case No. CRF-78-269. He was sentenced to eight (8) years' imprisonment and appeals. AFFIRMED.

Patti Palmer, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Norman, for appellant.

Jan Eric Cartwright, Atty. Gen., Jimmy D. Givens, Asst. Atty. Gen., Oklahoma City, for appellee.

OPINION

BRETT, Presiding Judge:

Charles Colbert, Jr., appeals from a conviction for Manslaughter in the First Degree pursuant to 21 O.S.1981, § 711, received in Carter County District Court Case No. CRF-78-269. Following a non-jury trial, the appellant was sentenced to eight (8) years of imprisonment.

On December 2, 1978, at approximately six o'clock in the evening, Bobby Edwards observed his uncle, Carlos Daniel Hammons, and the appellant exit Hammons' car outside of Hammons' residence. Bobby Edwards talked briefly with them and noticed they were both heavily intoxicated. A short time later Chris Edwards, the son of Bobby Edwards, helped the appellant carry Hammons into his house.

On December 5, 1978, Bobby Edwards discovered the body of his uncle, Carlos Daniel Hammons, on the living room floor of Hammons' house. Mr. Hammons' body was face-up on the floor with blood around his head, apparently having been badly beaten. There was no sign of a forced entry, but scattered bottles, cards and furniture indicated that a struggle had taken place. A knife blade was found in the victim's shirt and the body had serious lacerations and fractures. Rigor mortis was complete.

The appellant, Charles Colbert, Jr., was arrested later that evening by the Sheriff's deputies. O.S.B.I. agent, Tom Lockhart, read the appellant the Miranda rights. Colbert expressed that he understood these rights, but he seemed confused. Thereafter, Deputy Sheriff Atnip read through the rights form with the appellant line by line and told him that he had to understand them before they could ask him any questions. After Atnip explained each right in as simplified language as possible, he asked Colbert if he wanted to sign the form. Colbert stated he didn't know for sure. Then Deputy Atnip in an effort to ascertain how much Colbert understood, asked him if he knew why he was there. The appellant replied, "Because I killed Mr. Hammons." Deputy Atnip then inquired if he wanted to go ahead and talk and Colbert replied yes, he guessed so, he knew he was going to have to go to jail sooner or later. Again his rights were read to him one line at a time. He stated that he understood them and signed the form. Next Deputy Atnip slowly and carefully explained the rights waiver form and Colbert indicated that he knew what it meant and wanted to sign it. Colbert stated that he had killed Mr. Hammons during a struggle that ensued over an argument concerning money Mr. Hammons owed him. He told Atnip that the shoes he had been wearing and the knife handle corresponding to the blade found on the victim's body could be found at the house Colbert shared with his father. Deputy Atnip and Agent Lockhart obtained the father's consent to search the house and recovered the knife handle and shoes.

The appellant now raises for the first time on appeal the argument that the statutes governing competence to stand trial in effect at the time of his trial were unconstitutional per se on substantive and procedural due process grounds pursuant to the U.S. and Oklahoma Constitutions. These statutes, 22 O.S.1971, §§ 1171-1174, were repealed in 1980 and replaced by 22 O.S.Supp.1980, § 1175.1 et seq. Specifically the appellant asserts that the statutes in effect during his trial were inadequate because there was no provision for a pre-trial hearing on competency and no definition or standard by which the competency could be judged.

According to the record, Colbert was committed for observation prior to trial on the application of defense counsel. Upon completing an examination of the appellant, Dr. Schmidt of the Department of Forensic Psychiatry at Central State Hospital confirmed that the appellant could differentiate between right and wrong and was mentally competent. Two other independent examinations were conducted after the preliminary hearing but before trial, and the doctors' letters, found in the record reveal that the appellant had an extremely low I.Q. but opinions conflicted as to his competence in general. The judge, at each and every appearance of the appellant cautiously and painstakenly questioned him as to whether he understood his rights and the proceedings against him.

The appellant relies primarily on the case of Rex v. Owens, Memorandum Opinion CIV-76-0978-E (W.D.Okl. Jan. 22, 1980) an unpublished opinion in which a federal district court ruled that §§ 1171-1174 were unconstitutional as violations of equal protection and substantive due process. However, the issue in Rex, supra, was the invalidity of Oklahoma's involuntary indefinite commitment procedures, whereas the instant case pertains to the validity of the competency determination procedure. The critical determination in the present case is whether the Oklahoma Statutes were adequate to protect the appellant from being tried for a crime at a time when he might have been mentally unable to consult with his lawyer and aid in his own defense. 1

The statutes complained of have been considered by the Oklahoma Courts in prior cases and case law supplementation of these statutes has attempted to correct any original inadequacies. This Court found an implied right to notice and a hearing was required by these statutes before an accused could be committed for observation to a mental hospital. In Re Lutker, 274 P.2d 786 (Okl.Cr.App.1954). And, in Pierce v. State of Oklahoma, 436 F.Supp. 1026 (W.D.Okl.1977) the Court held that the Oklahoma procedures were constitutionally adequate to protect the right of an accused not to be tried while legally incompetent. Although the statutes complained of may not have provided the best means for an initial competency determination, they certainly were, as Pierce and Lutker recognized, a reasonable vehicle toward that end. We therefore find the appellant's first assignment of error is without merit.

Secondly, the appellant argues that even if the statutes pursuant to which his competence was determined were facially valid they were applied to him in an unconstitutional manner. He complains that he was denied due process of law because the competency determination was made without a "complete" competency hearing, without cross-examination of Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Meadows, and without an explicit declaration by the trial judge as to the standard of proof employed in determining competence or upon whom that burden was placed. The appellant's reliance on Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966), for the proposition that a full and complete evidentiary hearing was required in Oklahoma is misplaced. The Supreme Court determined in Pate that the defendant was entitled to a sanity hearing because, pursuant to Illinois Revised Statutes c. 38, § 104-2 (1963), where the evidence raised a "bona fide doubt" as to a defendant's competence to stand trial, the judge on his own motion had to impanel the jury and conduct a sanity hearing.

We disagree with the appellant's contention that an evidentiary hearing was constitutionally required if a doubt as to his competency to stand trial was raised. The relevant statutes, 22 O.S.1971, §§ 1171-1174, required that the individual, upon proper application, could be committed to a state hospital for observation and examination for a period not to exceed sixty days. If, as in the present case, the doctors, after observation and examination as provided, determined that the individual was presently sane, the order of the district court suspending proceedings were to be dissolved.

The appellant had ample opportunity at the preliminary hearing and at his trial to present evidence to establish his incompetence. The trial judges were quite concerned with this issue and...

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  • Coleman v. Saffle, 90-7043
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit
    • 28 Agosto 1990
    ...and ability to assist counsel in 1979 did not, per se, violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Colbert v. State, 654 P.2d 624 (Okl.Cr.1982). 2. That the procedures utilized in 1979 for determining competency were known to petitioner and were available to be raised on dir......
  • Hatch v. State
    • United States
    • United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    • 6 Agosto 1996
    ...determine Mr. Hatch's competency to stand trial were constitutionally inadequate". (Petitioner's brief, pg. 10). Citing to Colbert v. State, 654 P.2d 624 (Okl.Cr.1982), Petitioner initially argues that competency proceedings were conducted in his case under an antiquated statutory scheme wh......
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    • Oklahoma Supreme Court
    • 25 Septiembre 2018
    ...; In re D.D.F. & S.D.F. , 1990 OK 89, ¶ 5, 801 P.2d 703, 705. Waiver must be competently, knowingly, and intelligently given. Colbert v. State , 1982 OK CR 174, ¶ 13, 654 P.2d 624, 627 ; In re D.D.F. & S.D.F. , 1990 OK 89, ¶ 8, 801 P.2d at 705. We review allowance or denial of waiver of the......
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    ...P.3d at 107.See also Kerr, 1987 OK CR 136, ¶¶ 12–13, 738 P.2d at 1372;Hatch v. State, 1983 OK CR 47, ¶ 12, 662 P.2d 1377, 1381;Colbert v. State, 1982 OK CR 174, ¶ 13, 654 P.2d 624, 627–28;Frazier v. State, 1982 OK CR 182, ¶ 6, 654 P.2d 639, 641;Rodriguez v. State, 1982 OK CR 53, ¶ 2, 644 P.......
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