Haygood v. State
| Decision Date | 16 January 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. A07A1834.,A07A1834. |
| Citation | 656 S.E.2d 541,289 Ga. App. 187 |
| Parties | HAYGOOD v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Court of Appeals |
Robert D. Lenhardt, for appellant.
Kenneth W. Mauldin, District Attorney, Nancee E. Tomlinson, Assistant District Attorney, for appellee.
Following a jury trial, Samuel Jeffrey Haygood was found guilty of two counts of statutory rape and two counts of child molestation based on his contact with his stepdaughter. He appeals the denial of his motion for new trial, asserting that the trial court erred in failing sua sponte to order a hearing on Haygood's competence to stand trial; and that his trial counsel's assistance was ineffective, first, in failing to request a mental health evaluation of Haygood and, second, in failing to object on Confrontation Clause grounds to DNA evidence admitted at trial. We find no error and affirm.
"On appeal of a conviction based on a jury verdict, this [C]ourt resolves all conflicts in favor of the verdict and examines the evidence in a light most favorable to support that verdict."1 So viewing the evidence, the record reflects that at trial A.W., then 16 years old, testified that Haygood forced her to engage in sex with him beginning when she was 11; that she told her mother of his behavior but that her mother did not believe her; and that Haygood continued to force her to have sex with him. In March 2003, when A.W. was 14, she was found to be pregnant; she delivered twins, a boy and a girl, on September 20, 2003, when she was 15 years old. At trial, A.W. identified Haygood as the father of her twins. A.W.'s mother, Nancy Haygood, testified that her daughter told her in March 2002 of Haygood's behavior in forcing A.W. to engage in sex with him. The mother further testified that she did not believe her daughter's outcry at that time. The state also introduced DNA evidence indicating that Haygood was the father of A.W.'s twins.
At trial, Haygood denied having sexual intercourse with A.W. or touching her in any sexual manner. He stated that he and Nancy Haygood were married in November 1996 and were divorced in April 2001, but that he moved back in with Nancy in January 2002 because he was having heart trouble. Haygood further testified that he avoided sex because he feared a heart attack; that instead he masturbated into condoms, which he then discarded in the trash; and that his stepdaughter, A.W., must have obtained his semen from the discarded condoms in order to impregnate herself. When he was asked on cross-examination how A.W. figured out how to impregnate herself, he responded,
At the sentencing hearing, the trial court heard testimony in mitigation from several witnesses on behalf of Haygood: his brother, Griffin Haygood; his employer and a coworker at the substance abuse treatment center where Haygood had been employed; and his youngest sister, Reverend Pamela Samuel. None of these witnesses described any mental health problems Haygood may have had. The trial court noted on the record that prior to the sentencing hearing he had received a facsimile "signed the family" concerning Haygood's mental health history, but that the source was unknown, and that at no time had the court been made aware of any prior mental health problems indicating a need for a mental health evaluation of Haygood. Trial counsel stated at that time that he had no evidence to present on the issue of mental incompetency. The facsimile mentioned by the judge was not entered into evidence nor was it made a part of the record on appeal.
At the new trial hearing, Haygood testified that he was tested for "mental health issues" in 1988; that he received disability payments for "a mental health issue" for three years, starting in 1989 and ending when he obtained employment as a substance abuse counselor. On cross-examination, however, he testified that he sought psychiatric help in 1989, when he met once with a doctor who worked for "Social Security," and again in 2001, when he met twice with a psychiatrist employed at the same substance abuse treatment center where Haygood was employed; and that prior to the June 2005 trial he had been employed as a substance abuse counselor or supervisor for more than four years. Haygood further testified that he did not understand the nature of the proceedings at the time of trial, nor did he "comprehend [his] own condition" at that time; but that he never told his trial counsel or the trial judge that he did not understand the proceedings or that he had "mental health issues." Griffin Haygood testified that Haygood exhibited "unreasonable patterns of thought."
Haygood's trial counsel, an attorney with more than 12 years experience representing criminal defendants, also testified at the new trial hearing. Counsel testified that he was aware that Haygood had abused drugs "years before," but that he understood that Haygood had been employed for a long time as a substance abuse counselor; and that this employment had continued up to the time of trial. Counsel testified that he met with Haygood four or five times prior to trial, spending either five to six or ten to twelve hours with Haygood. Counsel testified further that he was able to communicate with Haygood; that Haygood responded to his questions appropriately; that Haygood never gave any indication or told counsel that he did not understand what was going on at trial; that based on counsel's observations and experience, Haygood did not demonstrate such a lack of understanding as would raise a question of incompetency; that before the verdict was rendered, counsel had been given no indication that Haygood had received treatment for mental illness; and that therefore counsel did not make inquiry or investigate. Haygood's prior mental health. Counsel further testified that he did not discuss with Haygood the possibility of pursuing a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill, because this option "did not seem to be an issue to me," nor did he see the need for a mental evaluation in Haygood's case. Counsel testified that Haygood's testimony at trial concerning how A.W. might have impregnated herself with his sperm seemed "medically unlikely" but "rational in a sense," and it did not prompt him to seek a mental evaluation for Haygood. Trial counsel further testified that after the end of the trial, and a day or two before the sentencing hearing, he first learned from Griffin Haygood that Haygood had had prior mental problems, but the information was not specific, nor did he receive any written documentation of the alleged mental illness; and therefore counsel did not believe it necessary to look into the mental health issue further.
1. Haygood contends that the trial court erred in failing sua sponte to conduct a hearing on his competency to stand trial. "An accused who lacks the mental capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings around him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense, may not constitutionally be subjected to trial."2 The trial court is required to inquire into a defendant's competency sua sponte, however, "only when information becomes known to it, prior to or at the time of the trial, sufficient to raise a bona fide doubt regarding the defendant's competence":3 that is, "information which, objectively considered, should reasonably have raised a doubt about the defendant's competency and alerted the trial court to the possibility that the defendant could neither understand the proceedings, appreciate their significance, nor rationally aid his attorney in his defense."4 In determining whether the trial court received such information, "an appellate court focuses on three factors: (1) evidence of the defendant's irrational behavior; (2) the defendant's demeanor at trial; and (3) prior medical opinion regarding the defendant's competence to stand trial."5 Because none of these factors are shown in the record before us, this enumeration of error fails.
The record does not show that Haygood engaged in any irrational behavior, either before or during the trial. Haygood points to his testimony at trial concerning his explanation for the paternity of the twins as being irrational in light of trial counsel's testimony that counsel was able to communicate with Haygood; that Haygood responded to counsel's questions appropriately; that Haygood appreciated the seriousness of the charges against him; and that Haygood gave no indication that he did not understand the proceedings, we conclude that neither this nor other behavior referenced by Haygood raised a "bona fide doubt" as to Haygood's competence.6
With regard to the second factor listed above, Haygood's demeanor at trial also gave no indication of incompetency. In determining Haygood's competency at time of trial, the trial court was authorized to consider not only the evidence presented at the new trial hearing, but also "the overall trial proceedings."7 "As a first-hand observer of [Haygood]'s demeanor, the court was well positioned to determine the need for a psychiatric evaluation."8 In ruling on Haygood's motion for new trial, the trial court specifically found that Haygood "did not exhibit incompetence from his demeanor at the trial." Our review of the record shows that this finding is not clearly erroneous. Thus, the second factor listed above is absent from this case.
As to the third factor, it is undisputed that the trial court had access to no medical opinion whatsoever indicating Haygood's incompetence, and certainly not to any prior medical opinion.9 Griffin Haygood, Haygood's brother, testified at the new trial hearing that immediately prior to the sentencing hearing (but after the trial had ended), he sent to the' trial court a facsimile of a "printout," allegedly from Social Security, having to do with his brother's mental health...
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