Gilbert v. State
| Decision Date | 20 November 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. F-96-31,F-96-31 |
| Citation | 951 P.2d 98,1997 OK CR 71 |
| Parties | 1997 OK CR 71 Lewis Eugene GILBERT, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
Appellant Lewis Eugene Gilbert was tried by jury and convicted of First Degree Malice Aforethought Murder (Count I) (21 O.S.1991, § 701.7), Kidnapping (Count II) (21 O.S.1991, § 741), Robbery with Firearms (Count III) (21 O.S.1991, § 801), Case No. CF-94-1125, in the District Court of Cleveland County. In Count I the jury found the existence of two (2) aggravating circumstances and recommended the punishment of death. In each of Counts II and III, the jury recommended as punishment life imprisonment and fines of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.). The trial court sentenced accordingly. From this judgment and sentence Appellant has perfected this appeal. 1
Appellant and co-defendant Eric Elliott 2 were convicted of the premeditated murder of Roxanne Ruddell, a security guard at Lake Stanley Draper. Appellant and Elliott were in the midst of a multi-state crime spree when they arrived in Oklahoma. They had killed an elderly lady in Ohio and stolen her car which they drove to Missouri. There, they killed an elderly couple and stole their car which they drove to Oklahoma. Driving that car to the area near Lake Stanley Draper, Appellant and Elliott saw the victim fishing alone near Point 6. Intending to steal her pickup, the defendants tied the victim's hands, made her walk a short distance and sit in the "v" at the base of a tree. Appellant then shot her three times in the head. Approximately three days later, Appellant and Elliott were apprehended in New Mexico sleeping in a ditch. The victim's pickup was found approximately one mile away.
Appellant contends in his second assignment of error that the trial court erred in refusing to order a competency evaluation. Appellant asserts such an evaluation was warranted as sufficient evidence had been presented to raise a reasonable doubt as to his competency to stand trial. In the first part of his five part argument, Appellant contends that Oklahoma's procedures mandated a court-ordered evaluation before trial to protect his fundamental due process right to be tried while legally competent.
An accused is presumed to be competent to stand trial and has the burden of proving his incompetence. Bryson v. State, 876 P.2d 240, 249 (Okl.Cr.1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1090, 115 S.Ct. 752, 130 L.Ed.2d 651 (1995). If the defendant makes a threshold showing that he is incompetent by the filing of a proper application, the court must hold a hearing to examine the application. Cargle v. State, 909 P.2d 806, 815 (Okl.Cr.1995), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 831, 117 S.Ct. 100, 136 L.Ed.2d 54 (1996). The test to be used at that hearing is whether the accused has sufficient ability to consult with his lawyer and has a rational as well as actual understanding of the proceedings against him. Bryson, 876 P.2d at 249. The determination of whether a sufficient doubt has been raised regarding a defendant's competency is left to the trial judge. Id. Such determination is based upon the particular facts and circumstances of each case. Id. The trial court is not required to give controlling effect to the opinions of experts, but may rely on the opinion of lay witnesses and the court's own observations of the defendant. Id., Cooper v. State, 889 P.2d 293, 304 (Okl.Cr.1995), overruled on other grounds, Cooper v. Oklahoma, 517 U.S. 348, 116 S.Ct. 1373, 134 L.Ed.2d 498 (1996). If the court finds the application raises a doubt regarding the defendant's competency, an order for an examination by qualified medical personnel is entered. Cargle, 909 P.2d at 815.
As this illustrates, our state procedures mandate a court-ordered evaluation only when sufficient doubt as to the defendant's competency to stand trial has been raised, thereby ensuring the defendant's due process rights to be tried while legally competent. As we will see in addressing the second portion of Appellant's argument, a sufficient doubt as to competency was not raised in this case.
Pursuant to 22 O.S.1991, § 1175.3, Appellant filed a motion for determination of competency, a hearing was held by the trial court and the application examined to determine whether sufficient facts had been alleged to raise a doubt as to Appellant's competency to stand trial. In support of the application, defense counsel expressed his belief that the defendant was unable to have a reasonable degree of understanding about how his trial would proceed, that he (counsel) and others had attempted to educate the defendant about the court process and his understanding had improved, but counsel believed that the degree of understanding was insufficient to enable the defendant to adequately assist at trial. Counsel also noted that the defendant was "unable to consistently pay attention to matters at hand" and counsel believed the defendant would be unable at trial to focus his attention as needed on testimony and, therefore, the defendant would be "de facto absent." Counsel also stated the defendant's educational background and intellectual ability was limited and such affected his ability to assist counsel; and that the defendant had control problems which might result in inappropriate behavior at trial and that, although the defendant sometimes had a great interest in the case, he was often unable to understand the basis of what happens in court or regarding his case in general.
A hearing on this application was held and Appellant presented one witness, Luther Grisso, an investigator with the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. Mr. Grisso testified that his training in competency determinations and mental illness came from seminars, conferences and workshops. He stated that he had visited Appellant on four or five occasions during the past year and had reviewed his medical records. This had led him to doubt Appellant's competency to stand trial. Mr. Grisso stated that Appellant did not understand what had transpired in court during a previous hearing, that Appellant did not understand that a jury would be in the courtroom or what their function was to be. He testified to records which showed Appellant had been in a special education program in school and that he possessed a low I.Q. Grisso stated he believed Appellant could not pay attention throughout the course of the trial and that he might display inappropriate behavior.
On cross-examination, Mr. Grisso admitted that in every case in which he had concluded the defendant was incompetent to stand trial, none had been found to be so by a jury. He stated that a review of Appellant's medical records gave no indication Appellant had at any time been prescribed medication, and Appellant was not, to the best of his knowledge, taking medication at the present time.
After hearing testimony and argument, the trial court found the application for determination of competency alleged no facts "which raised any doubt in the Court's mind as to Mr. Gilbert's legal competency as defined in 22 O.S.1991, § 1175.1" and that Mr. Grisso's testimony failed to "present any facts to raise a doubt in the Court's mind as to Mr. Gilbert's legal competency as defined in 22 O.S.1991, § 1175.1" and that "taken together, the application and the testimony do not raise such doubts." The court stated that its findings were based upon the testimony presented at the hearing as well as its own knowledge of the defendant as obtained through personal observation of him at the arraignment, an earlier motion hearing and the hearing at hand.
The standard of review on appeal is whether there is any competent evidence reasonably supporting the trier of fact. Bryson, 876 P.2d at 249. When the issue of competency is tried before a judge, his finding will not be disturbed on appeal if it is supported by sufficient evidence. Id. Here, the record clearly supports the trial judge's decision.
Title 22 O.S.1991, § 1175.2 provides in pertinent part
The application for determination of competency shall allege that the person is incompetent to undergo further proceedings, and shall state facts sufficient to raise a doubt as to the competency of the person. (emphasis added).
In Cargle, the term "doubt" (as used with competency and sanity), was discussed. Quoting Reynolds v. State, 575 P.2d 628 (Okl.Cr.1978), this Court stated:
It is well-settled in Oklahoma that the doubt referred to in the statute is that doubt which must arise in the mind of the trial court. The trial court may look to the source of the information and motive in determining whether there is doubt which would justify a sanity hearing, and the existence of a doubt as to defendant's sanity must arise from facts of a substantial nature. There must exist reasons to believe that the defendant's claim of insanity is genuine and not simulated to delay justice, and the finding of the trial court will not be disturbed on appeal unless a clear abuse of discretion is shown.
Based on the evidence before it, the court did not err in refusing to order a competency examination as facts "sufficient to raise a doubt" in the court's mind concerning the defendant's competency were not presented. See Fox v. State, 524 P.2d 60, 65 (Okl.Cr.1974) (...
To continue reading
Request your trial