Gonzales v. Schriro
| Decision Date | 23 April 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-99-2016-PHX-SMM.,CV-99-2016-PHX-SMM. |
| Citation | 617 F.Supp.2d 849 |
| Parties | Ernest Valencia GONZALES, Petitioner, v. Dora B. SCHRIRO, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
Leticia Marquez, Fredric F. Kay, Esq., Federal Public Defender, Tucson, AZ, Kelley J. Henry, Federal Public Defender's Office, Nashville, TN, Jason Hawkins, Federal Public Defender's Office, Phoenix, AZ, for Petitioner.
John Presley Todd, Esq., Office of the Attorney General, Phoenix, AZ, for Respondents.
Before the Court is Petitioner's Motion for Competency Determination and to Stay Proceedings. (Dkt. 102.)1 For the reasons set forth herein, the motion is denied.
On November 15, 1999, Petitioner, an Arizona inmate sentenced to death, commenced these proceedings by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. (Dkt. 1.) The Court appointed the Federal Public Defender's Office to represent Petitioner. (Dkt. 8.) On December 21, 1999, the Court issued a case management order setting a deadline for the filing of an amended petition. (Dkt. 17.) Citing Rule 2 of the Rules Governing § 2254 Cases, the order required the amended petition to "include every known constitutional error or deprivation entitling Petitioner to habeas relief" and to (Id.) On July 17, 2000, Petitioner filed a 237-page first amended petition raising sixty claims. (Dkt. 28.) Petitioner subsequently withdrew thirteen unexhausted claims from the amended petition so that he could pursue them in state court. (Dkt. 43.) The parties thereafter completed briefing on the procedural status of the remaining claims. (See Dkts. 47,48, 54, 59.)
On January 12, 2006, the Court entered its order regarding the procedural status of the claims submitted in the amended petition. (Dkt. 97.) The Court dismissed certain claims and established a deadline for Petitioner to submit briefing on the merits of the remaining claims. (Id.) On February 23, 2006, prior to the deadline for filing his merits brief, counsel for Petitioner moved to stay this action pursuant to Rohan ex rel. Gates v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 803 (9th Cir.2003), contending that Petitioner was no longer capable of rationally communicating with or assisting habeas counsel. (Dkt. 102.) The motion indicated that since October 2003 Petitioner had refused some twenty-six attempted visits from habeas counsel and support staff, who wished to "discuss these upcoming proceedings, including merits briefing and requests for evidentiary development." (Id. at 5-6.) Counsel indicated that they needed Petitioner's assistance in order to brief the merits of a number of claims. (Dkts. 102, 108.) Following Petitioner's Rohan motion, and based upon the Court's initial review of the allegations and evidence concerning Petitioner's mental state, the Court allowed an evaluation of Petitioner's competence to proceed, and each party enlisted a mental health expert. (Dkt. 111.)
The parties' experts, both psychiatrists, reached conflicting conclusions. Respondents' expert, Dr. Anna Scherzer, performed an independent psychiatric consultation, which included an eight-hour interview and the administration of a number of assessment instruments, and prepared a detailed thirty-page report. (Dkt. 124.) Dr. Scherzer concluded to a reasonable degree of medical/psychiatric certainty that Petitioner "has the capacity to understand his legal position" and "has the capacity to communicate in a comprehensible manner." (Id. at 1.) She noted that "[a]s the interview progressed, Mr. Gonzales demonstrated periods of reflection, normal speech pattern, conversationally appropriate amplitude and logical appreciation of the reality of his circumstances, . . . demonstrat[ing] awareness of the central issue of when the government would carry out the already imposed death penalty." (Id. at 29.) Dr. Scherzer also explained that the results of the instruments she administered were "consistent with volitional feigning and malingered exaggeration of symptom [sic] of mental illness" and "were not consistent with expected patterns of known psychiatric disorders." (Id. at 2-3.) Furthermore, according to Dr. Scherzer, Petitioner acknowledged that "he has volitionally chosen not to communicate with his attorney," and "he verbalized his desire to be found incompetent, (and thereby delay or avoid death by lethal gas)." (Dkt. 124 at 2.) However, while in Dr. Scherzer's professional opinion Petitioner "is knowingly choosing to present himself as severely mentally ill, this does not exclude the presence of a psychiatric disorder." (Id. at 29.) Dr. Scherzer recommended a period of "locked mental health observation" to determine if Petitioner's symptoms were indeed feigned and, if the symptoms persisted, treatment with "atypical neuroleptics and mood stabilizing psychotropic medication." (Id. at 30.)
Petitioner's expert, Dr. Raphael Morris, after conducting a two-hour "psychiatric interview" and reviewing various records, diagnosed Petitioner with Schizophrenia, Disorganized Type and concluded that he (Dkt. 125 at 2, 10.) Dr. Morris found, contrary to Dr. Scherzer, that Petitioner "is unable to have a coherent discussion about even the most benign topics much less provide input towards the defense team's investigations." (Id. at 10.) Dr. Morris recommended a course of anti-psychotic medication but characterized Petitioner's "prognosis for restoration of competency" as "guarded at best." (Id. at 2-3, 12).
After receiving the reports from Drs. Scherzer and Morris, the Court scheduled an evidentiary hearing. (Dkt. 131.) Prior to the hearing, however, Respondents filed a motion requesting that Petitioner be transferred to the Arizona State Hospital ("ASH") for an extended mental health assessment; the Court granted the motion. (Dkts. 138, 147.) On October 10, 2007, at the end of the ninety-day assessment period, the supervising psychologist, Dr. James Seward, submitted a final report. Dr. Seward indicated that he "continue[d] to have reservations concerning the veracity of Mr. Gonzales's symptoms" and that "malingering cannot be ruled out." (Dkt. 160 at 1, 3.) Nevertheless, he concluded that Petitioner has a "genuine psychotic disorder" and is "currently unable to communicate rationally for any extended period of time, such as would be required by a legal proceeding." (Id. at 2). Dr. Seward became persuaded that Petitioner's symptoms were genuine after observing an improvement in Petitioner's capacity for rational thought during the brief period when Petitioner was compliant with a regimen of the antipsychotic medication, Aripiprazole, which was prescribed by his treating psychiatrist, Dr. Qureshi. (Id. at 2-3.) Despite the observations of Drs. Seward and Qureshi, and Petitioner's self-report that he had experienced "some benefit . . . regarding his thought processes," Petitioner asked to be taken off the medication, complaining of side effects such as back pain and restlessness.2 (Id. at 2.) Upon receiving Dr. Seward's report and being informed that Petitioner had discontinued treatment with this potentially beneficial medication, the Court ordered briefing on the issue of involuntary administration of antipsychotic medication. (Dkt. 164.)
On October 15 and December 3, 2007, the Court held status hearings to address these latest developments. At the hearings, the discussion focused on the holdings in two cases. In Rohan, 334 F.3d at 819, the Ninth Circuit held that capital habeas proceedings must be stayed, "pending restoration of competence," where a petitioner is unable to communicate rationally with counsel regarding claims that could benefit from such communication. In Sell v. United States, 539 U.S. 166, 169, 123 S.Ct. 2174, 156 L.Ed.2d 197 (2003), the Supreme Court addressed the question "whether the Constitution permits the Government to administer antipsychotic drugs involuntarily to a mentally ill criminal defendant—in order to render that defendant competent to stand trial for serious, but nonviolent, crimes." The Court held that in limited circumstances forcible medication was permissible and established the analytical framework under which such determinations are made. Id.
In briefing completed prior to the December 3 status conference, Petitioner maintained that he was incompetent under Rohan and that, pursuant to the criteria set forth in Sell, he could not be restored to competency through involuntary medication. (Dkt. 177.) Noting that the issue involved—whether a habeas petitioner, convicted of a violent crime, could prevent action on his own petition by refusing to be restored to competence—was one of first impression, the Court ordered additional briefing on a number of questions. (Dkt. 180.) The initial question asked Petitioner to identify the specific claims and types of assistance "needed from Petitioner—beyond that already provided and submitted as part of the Amended Petition—to complete preparation of the merits brief and any requests for evidentiary development," explaining that such "information is necessary for any determination regarding Petitioner's ability to communicate rationally with counsel as required under Rohan." (Id. at 2.) That briefing has been completed. (Dkts. 184, 185, 186.)
As noted above, the Ninth Circuit in Rohan determined that a prisoner "has a statutory right to competence in his federal habeas proceedings." 334 F.3d at 817. The "relevant question" in determining...
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