Hill v. State, s. 65223

• Decision Date: 20 June 1985
• Docket Number: 65227,Nos. 65223,s. 65223
• Citation: 473 So.2d 1253,10 Fla. L. Weekly 324
• Parties: 10 Fla. L. Weekly 324 James Douglas HILL, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. James Douglas HILL, Petitioner, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, etc., Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 1253

473 So.2d 1253

10 Fla. L. Weekly 324

James Douglas HILL, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

James Douglas HILL, Petitioner, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, etc., Respondent.

Nos. 65223, 65227.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 20, 1985.

Rehearing Denied Sept. 5, 1985.

B.V. Dannheisser, III, Sarasota, Michael J. Echevarria, Tampa, and Edward S. Stafman, Tallahassee, for appellant/petitioner.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and Theda James Davis, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee/respondent.

OVERTON, Justice.

James Douglas Hill, who is under a sentence of death, appeals from the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and separately petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction, article V, section 3(b)(1) and (9), Florida Constitution. We previously granted Hill's motion for a stay of execution to afford this Court an opportunity to address fully the issues raised in this proceeding. For the reasons expressed, we find that principles of law enunciated by the United States Supreme Court require us to vacate Hill's conviction and sentence and remand with directions for the trial court to conduct a hearing on the issue of Hill's competency to stand trial and, if Hill is found competent, to proceed with a new trial.

This Court previously affirmed Hill's conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death. Hill v. State, 422 So.2d 816 (Fla.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1017, 103 S.Ct. 1262, 75 L.Ed.2d 488 (1983). The facts and circumstances of the crime, as they were presented to this Court at that time, are set forth in detail in that opinion.

In his motion for relief under rule 3.850, Hill challenges his conviction on the grounds that (a) the circumstances existing at trial required the court to hold a hearing on Hill's competency to stand trial and (b) the record demonstrates that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during both his trial and appeal. We need only address the issue of Hill's competency to stand trial because we find that it is dispositive of this cause.

The trial court conducted a modified evidentiary hearing on Hill's competency to stand trial, during which he heard testimony from Hill's trial counsel and defense investigator, but directed that all other testimony be submitted in the form of depositions. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court summarily denied Hill's motion for post-conviction relief.

The factual circumstances that were not presented in the initial court proceedings and that are critical to the issue of Hill's competency to stand trial reflect the following unrefuted facts.

Approximately five years prior to Hill's arrest on the murder charge, he was diagnosed as suffering from grand mal epileptic seizures. At that time, both the treating physician and the admitting physician concluded that Hill suffered from mental retardation.

In 1972, Hill was placed in a special education program for mentally handicapped children in the Hillsborough County school system. One of his teachers testified that Hill had been her student for two years. During this period of time she observed that Hill was child-like and had a severe speech problem which made it difficult for him to communicate with others. She stated that he was an "easy scapegoat" who, because of his speech impediment, was often blamed for things he did not do and, when accused, Hill would often admit guilt. The teacher stated that this acquiescent behavior was a characteristic trait of some mentally retarded students. The dean of students at the school corroborated the teacher's testimony, characterizing Hill as educable mentally handicapped with a communication problem. He also repeated the teacher's assertion that Hill was unable to defend himself when wrongly accused by other students.

While he was awaiting trial, Hill was evaluated by a county jail nurse who noted that he appeared retarded and recommended further evaluation to determine if Hill was suicidal. He was referred to the Hillsborough County Community Mental Health Center, where he was evaluated by a mental health technician and a psychiatrist. They recommended that Hill undergo psychiatric and psychological evaluation, but, for some unexplained reason, this was not done.

The defense investigator testified that he had difficulty "extracting sufficient information from [Hill] to go out there and do an investigation." He also stated that Hill was unable to assist him in investigating the case in "a normal manner," explaining that Hill could not, for example, relate concepts of time as he was unable to distinguish between three weeks and three months.

At trial, Hill exhibited unusual behavior, indicating his lack of appreciation of the nature of the proceedings against him. At one point he attempted to walk out of the courtroom because the "jury was laughing at him." He also stated that he thought the trial was a "game." In addition, he conversed and laughed with friends in the courtroom despite his attorney's instructions to the contrary.

Subsequent to trial, and in preparation for this post-conviction relief proceeding, two mental health professionals examined Hill independently of each other, and each found Hill to have an I.Q. of 66. This score placed Hill in the lowest one percent with respect to the general population. One psychologist found the following:

Neuropsychological screening supports a diagnosis of organic brain damage which is primarily manifested in deficits of memory, reasoning and conceptualization. The results of the WMS indicate a memory quotient of 48 (average = 100), a score even lower than that expected from an individual with Mr. Hill's I.Q. He was unable to recall any details from two simple stories read to him ninety minutes earlier, indicating a significant memory deficit, particularly for verbally presented material. His presentation of his history supports these deficits as he was unable to provide accurate information concerning events in the past.

... [T]he current psychological evaluation certainly reveals that Mr. Hill is a mentally retarded individual (I.Q. = 66) who would not have the ability to design, execute or cover up any detailed plans....

Current testing shows that Mr. Hill's recall capacity is inaccurate for events occurring from ninety minutes to twenty-four hours in the past. It is even more significantly impaired for events and details occurring more remotely. Thus, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Hill possessed the capacity to testify relevantly at the time of his trial or to adequately assist his attorney in all phases of the defense preparation.

The second mental health professional, a clinical psychologist, stated that "James was about as incompetent to stand trial, in my professional opinion, as anyone that I have seen except for several people who are actively hallucinating at the time of the interview." He testified that, based upon his reading of the trial transcript, Hill "did not have the ability to testify with coherence, relevance, and independence of judgment, and that Hill was unable to disclose pertinent facts to an attorney, communicate relevantly to an attorney, assist in planning a defense, or to realistically challenge prosecution witnesses." He further testified that he was "certain that James did not have a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceeding." He concluded that Hill was not competent to stand trial because he did not have the ability or capacity to testify relevantly at the time of his trial.

A psychological evaluation of Hill by a prison psychologist and classification specialist reflected that Hill was of borderline intelligence, illiterate, and epileptic. His report stated that Hill was unable to give reliable information about such a simple inquiry as place of birth. The psychologist stated that Hill "seemed to have difficulty understanding some questions during the current interview which had to then be repeated for him.... Hill appears to be extremely naive, emotionally and physically immature, and looks much younger than his actual age." This psychologist also found that it was doubtful Hill had the ability for abstract thinking, and concluded that Hill could probably be easily led by others. The report further reflects that Hill was tested on the beta I.Q. test, which is ordinarily used for testing children, and received a score of 79. According to the psychologist, this score placed Hill in the borderline range of intelligence. The beta test is different from the Wechsler test utilized by the other two psychologists who examined Hill for his competency to stand trial and, according to their testimony, is less valid than the Wechsler test.

The record further reflects that Hill's trial counsel did not understand the distinction between competency to stand trial and competency at the time of the offense under this state's modified M'Naghten rule. Hill's trial counsel testified that he resolved the issue of Hill's sanity by interviewing Hill and his family. He stated he was able to determine that Hill knew right from wrong and therefore eliminated the possibility of an insanity defense as well as any claim that Hill was not competent to stand trial. During his testimony at the post-conviction relief proceeding, Hill's trial counsel made it clear that his determination of Hill's competency to stand trial was based upon whether Hill knew right from wrong, as reflected by his statement, "Obviously, you are saying as far as right from wrong, competency question whether he knows right from wrong, and if not then obviously he is not competent to stand trial."

The principles of law which compel us to vacate Hill's conviction and direct a hearing to determine his competency to stand trial have been clearly set forth by the United States Supreme Court in its decisions in Bishop v. United States, 350 U.S. 961, 76 S.Ct. 440, 100 L.Ed. 835 (1956); Dusky v. United...