Mata v. Johnson

Decision Date17 April 2000
Docket NumberNo. 98-20756,98-20756
Citation210 F.3d 324
Parties(5th Cir. 2000) RAMON MATA, JR., Petitioner-Appellant, v. GARY JOHNSON, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, Respondent-Appellee
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Appeal from the United States District Court For the Southern District of Texas

Before WIENER, PARKER and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.

ROBERT M. PARKER, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner, Ramon Mata, Jr. ("Mata") appeals the dismissal of his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. We reverse and remand.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1986, Mata, a Texas prison inmate, was convicted of capital murder for killing a female prison guard with whom he claimed to be romantically involved. He was sentenced to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in 1992. See Mata v. State, No. 69,632 (Tex. Crim. App. Nov. 4, 1992)(unpublished). After exhausting his state remedies, Mata filed a federal Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on September 18, 1995. The district court denied relief. This court reversed and remanded Mata's Sixth Amendment fair trial claim for an evidentiary hearing. See Mata v. Johnson, 105 F.3d 209 (5th Cir. 1997). In July, 1998, as the parties were preparing for the evidentiary hearing on the merits of the fair trial claim, Mata wrote a letter advising the district court that he wished to abandon his collateral attack on his conviction and sentence and have an execution date set.1 After Mata confirmed his decision in a second letter, the district court dismissed the habeas petition without ruling on the question of Mata's competency. Mata's attorneys appealed on his behalf, raising the issue of Mata's competence to waive his appeal, and this court remanded the case for a retrospective determination of Mata's competency. On August 3, 1999, the district court entered Further Findings of Fact, concluding that Mata was competent on July 16, 1998 when he confirmed his decision to waive collateral review, on December 17, 1998, when he asked to reinstate collateral review and on July 25, 1999, when he advised the court that he had again decided to abandon his appeal. We granted Mata a Certificate of Probable Cause to appeal a single issue: whether the district court conducted a constitutionally adequate fact-finding inquiry to make a reliable determination of Mata's competency to abandon collateral review of his capital murder conviction and sentence.

II. ANALYSIS
A. Standard of Review

In considering a federal habeas corpus petition presented by a petitioner in state custody, we review the adequacy of the fact-finding procedure, an issue of law, de novo. See Clark v. Scott, 70 F.3d 386, 388 (5th Cir. 1995). The accuracy of the district court's factual conclusion concerning Mata's competence is not before us in this appeal.

B. Competency Determinations that Courts Have Found Adequate

We begin our analysis by examining the Supreme Court's guidance provided by Rees v. Peyton, 384 U.S. 312 (1966).

In Rees, a petitioner directed his counsel to withdraw his petition for certiorari and forgo any further attacks on his conviction and death sentence. Id. at 313. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the district court to make a determination as to Rees's mental competence, noting that it would be appropriate to subject Rees to psychiatric and other medical examinations. Id. at 314. The Supreme Court instructed the district court to "hold such hearings as it deems suitable, allowing the State and all other interested parties to participate should they so desire[.]" Id. The question presented to the district court was whether Rees has the "capacity to appreciate his position and make a rational choice with respect to continuing or abandoning further litigation or on the other hand whether he is suffering from a mental disease, disorder, or defect which may substantially affect his capacity in the premises." Id.

We glean two conclusions from the Supreme Court's Rees opinion. First, the directive to hold "such hearings as it deems suitable," Rees, 384 U.S. at 314, clearly affords the district court a measure of discretion in determining the type and extent of procedures necessary to decide the issue of competency. Second, there is a presumption that psychiatric and other medical examinations will be included in the decision making process.

Following Rees, this circuit affirmed a district court's determination that a petitioner was competent to abandon collateral review of his Texas capital murder conviction and death sentence. See Rumbaugh v. Procunier, 753 F.2d 395, 396 (5th Cir. 1985). Applying Rees, Rumbaugh set out a three part test directing the district court to determine (1) whether that person suffers from a mental disease, disorder, or defect; (2) whether a mental disease, disorder, or defect prevents that person from understanding his legal position and the options available to him; and (3) whether a mental disease, disorder, or defect prevents that person from making a rational choice among his options. See Rumbaugh, at 398. The record showed that prior to finding Rumbaugh competent, the district court held a preliminary hearing to decide the necessary proceedings under the circumstances. See id. at 397. The district court then ordered that Rumbaugh be examined by a team of psychiatrists and psychologists. See id. These mental health professionals submitted written reports to the court and the parties. See id. The court held a two-day evidentiary hearing, at which four mental health experts testified. See id. Rumbaugh also testified about his desire to abandon his appeals. See id. Only after this full opportunity to develop the facts regarding Rumbaugh's competence, did the district court make its ruling.

Recently, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of a habeas petitioner's request to dismiss his attorney and to dismiss his collateral attack on his death sentence with prejudice. See Ford v. Haley, 195 F.3d 603 (11th Cir. 1999). Before acting on Ford's pro se request, the magistrate judge held two evidentiary hearings. Id. at 611. At the first hearing, the petitioner appeared in person and the magistrate judge inquired into the petitioner's decision and observed his mental condition. See id. After the hearing, the magistrate judge examined the petitioner's prison medical records and appointed a psychiatric expert suggested by petitioner's counsel. See id. After the expert evaluated the petitioner and filed a written report, the magistrate judge appointed, at the request of petitioner's counsel, a neurologist to examine the petitioner. See id. at 612. At the second evidentiary hearing, both the psychiatrist and the petitioner testified. See id. Portions of the petitioner's testimony raised concerns which prompted the psychiatrist to request a second opportunity to examine the petitioner. See id. at 613. The magistrate judge granted the request, and the psychiatrist filed a supplement to his earlier written evaluation. See id. In response to the psychiatrist's conclusion that the petitioner was competent to abandon collateral review, petitioner's counsel submitted the mental health evaluation of the neurologist, who concluded that Ford was not competent to abandon his appeal. See id. at 614. The magistrate judge spoke once more with the petitioner by telephone. See id. The magistrate judge then made a report and recommendation to the district court, concluding that Ford was competent to dismiss his appeal. The district court adopted that recommendation after an independent review of the evidence. Id. at 614-15.

While Rumbaugh and Ford afford two examples of constitutionally adequate fact-finding inquiry into the competency of a petitioner to abandon collateral review in a capital case, they do not directly answer the question presented to us. In this case, we must first ascertain the boundaries of the district court's discretion in fashioning procedures constitutionally adequate to be used in such a competency proceeding and second we must determine whether the district court acted within those boundaries in this case.

C. Constitutionally adequate procedures

Although we have located no controlling precedent, we find that jurisprudence developed in the context of waiver of due process safeguards and related competency questions in criminal trial proceedings instructive. We start from the proposition that the conviction of a legally incompetent 2 defendant violates constitutional due process. See Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378 (1966). A habeas petitioner may, on collateral review of his state conviction, obtain relief if he can show that the state procedures were inadequate to ensure that he was competent to stand trial, for example if the trial court failed to conduct a competency hearing. See Carter v. Johnson, 131 F.3d 452, 459 n.10 (5th Cir. 1997)(citing Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375). A state court must conduct an inquiry into the defendant's mental capacity sua sponte if the evidence raises a bona fide doubt as to competency. See id. In determining whether there is a "bona fide doubt" as to the defendant's competence, the court considers:(1) any history of irrational behavior, (2) the defendant's demeanor at trial, and (3) any prior medical opinion on competency. See Davis v. Alabama, 545 F.2d 460, 464 (5th Cir. 1977). If the trial court received evidence, viewed objectively, that should have raised a reasonable doubt as to competency, yet failed to make further inquiry, the defendant has been denied a fair trial. See Carter, 131 F.3d at 459 n.10.

Assuming, arguendo, that a court has not received evidence raising a bona fide doubt as to competency, Supreme Court jurisprudence nonetheless mandates that courts indulge every reasonable presumption against waiver of fundamental constitutional rights. See Hodges v. Easton, 106 U.S. 408, 412 (198...

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