People v. Mondragon

• Decision Date: 16 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 06CA1293.,06CA1293.
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Troy MONDRAGON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Colorado Court of Appeals

217 P.3d 936

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Troy MONDRAGON, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 06CA1293.

Colorado Court of Appeals, Div. VII.

April 16, 2009.

John W. Suthers, Attorney General, Corina Gerety, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Douglas K. Wilson, Colorado State Public Defender, Elizabeth Griffin, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant.

Opinion by Judge GABRIEL.

Defendant, Troy Mondragon, appeals a judgment of conviction entered upon jury verdicts finding him guilty of attempted first degree murder, first degree assault, first degree burglary, and second degree burglary. As an apparent matter of first impression in Colorado, we conclude that where, as here, a defendant's mental disease or defect renders him incompetent to decide whether or not to exercise his right to testify in his own defense, he is incompetent to stand trial. Because the trial court did not apply the correct legal standards in addressing the issue of defendant's competence, and because additional factual findings are required, we remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background

In the middle of the night on March 23, 2003, the victim was sleeping in his apartment when he was stabbed repeatedly with a large kitchen knife. Although seriously injured, he survived this attack. In connection with this incident, defendant was charged with attempted first degree murder after deliberation, first degree assault (serious bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon), first degree burglary, and second degree burglary. The prosecution later added two crime of violence counts.

On a number of occasions, both prior to and during trial, the trial court addressed the issue of defendant's competency. Experts performed numerous evaluations of defendant in this regard, and several experts concluded that defendant was mentally ill. For example, one expert testified that defendant suffered from bipolar disorder with psychotic delusions. Among other things, defendant thought that he worked for the FBI, the CIA, and other agencies that infiltrated Satanist cults, and that he was involved in special operations as an archangel or an agent for good. The prosecution's principal expert, however, concluded that defendant was malingering.

Prior to trial, at the request of defendant's counsel, the court held a hearing on the issue of defendant's competence. The court found defendant competent to proceed, stating:

[T]here is no evidence that Defendant is unable to testify. The evidence, viewed most favorably to Defendant, is that he suffers from a delusion which is the product of a mental disease or defect and that, based on this delusion, he presently does not intend to testify at his trial. These facts do not satisfy the statutory definition of incompetence.

The issue of defendant's competence arose again during trial when, after the court advised defendant pursuant to People v. Curtis, 681 P.2d 504, 514 (Colo.1984), as to his right to testify in his own defense, defendant informed the court that he would not testify. Defendant explained that his decision was based on his belief that law enforcement officers would kill him or his family if he did.

After hearing defendant's explanation, the court noted that if he believed what he was saying, then he was "completely delusional." In addition, the court stated that it could not find in good faith that defendant had made a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent decision not to testify. Nonetheless, the court again found defendant competent to proceed. In reaching this conclusion, the court focused on the fact that defendant understood his right to testify, his right not to do so, and the consequences of both decisions. At the end of trial, the court also noted that defendant appeared to be able to consult with his attorney and his investigator. The court believed that these facts further supported its finding that defendant was competent. The court added, however, that if defendant were incompetent, it would be because he could not make a knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of his right to testify.

At the conclusion of trial, the jury found defendant guilty on all counts. He now appeals.

II. Incompetency

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in determining that he was competent to continue to stand trial where his delusions rendered him incompetent to decide whether or not to testify in his own defense. We conclude that the trial court applied the wrong legal standards in reaching its decision.

We review a trial court's competency determination for an abuse of discretion. People v. Palmer, 31 P.3d 863, 865-66 (Colo. 2001). A trial court abuses its discretion where its decision is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair, People v. Ibarra, 849 P.2d 33, 38 (Colo.1993), or where it applies an incorrect legal standard. BS & C Enters., L.L.C. v. Barnett, 186 P.3d 128, 130 (Colo. App.2008).

Subjecting a defendant to trial when he is incompetent violates the defendant's right to due process. Palmer, 31 P.3d at 866. At a hearing to determine a defendant's competency to proceed, "the party asserting the incompetency of the defendant [has] the burden of submitting evidence and the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence." § 16-8.5-103(7), C.R.S.2008. Under former section 16-8-102(3), which is applicable here, a defendant is "incompetent to proceed" if he suffers from a mental disease or defect that renders him or her incapable of (1) understanding the nature and course of the proceedings against him or her, or (2) participating or assisting in his defense or cooperating with his defense counsel. Ch. 44, § 39-1-105(1), 1972 Colo. Sess. Laws 225 (subsequently codified at § 16-8-102(3) until repeal in 2008); cf. § 16-8.5-101(4), C.R.S. 2008. More particularly, to be competent, a defendant must have "a sufficient present ability to consult with his counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, and a present rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him." People v. Morino, 743 P.2d 49, 51 (Colo.App. 1987) (emphasis added) (citing Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960)). This so-called Dusky standard applies equally to questions of a defendant's competence generally and to questions of a defendant's competence to choose to exercise or waive his constitutional rights. See Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 398-99, 113 S.Ct. 2680, 125 L.Ed.2d 321 (1993) (Dusky standard applies to a defendant's decision to waive the right to counsel).

Under the Dusky standard, a defendant lacks the requisite rational understanding if he does not have "a sufficient contact with reality" — that is, "if his mental condition precludes him from perceiving accurately, interpreting, and/or responding appropriately to the world around him." Lafferty v. Cook, 949 F.2d 1546, 1551 (10th Cir.1991); see also Coleman v. Saffle, 912 F.2d 1217, 1227 (10th Cir.1990) (no reason to believe that the defendant was not in touch with reality); United States v. Hemsi, 901 F.2d 293, 296 (2d Cir.1990) (noting evidence that the defendant's impaired sense of reality prevented him from acting effectively on his intellectual understanding and cooperating rationally in his defense); Balfour v. Haws, 892 F.2d 556, 561 (7th Cir.1989) (noting and rejecting counsel's belated suggestion that the defendant was not sufficiently in contact with reality to defend himself); Strickland v. Francis, 738 F.2d 1542, 1551-52 (11th Cir.1984) (noting that the defendant's delusional characteristics and psychotic disorders made it difficult for him to deal with reality); Lokos v. Capps, 625 F.2d 1258, 1267 (5th Cir.1980) (although the defendant could understand and respond to questions put to him, he was unable to relate realistically to the problems of his defense and was "not operating in the world of reality").

Thus, a defendant's factual understanding of the proceedings, proper orientation as to time, place, and person, and his ability to furnish accurately information as to his past history and the events at issue are not alone sufficient to establish the defendant's competence. Lafferty, 949 F.2d at 1551-55. Rather, the defendant's perceptions and understandings must also be rational and grounded in reality. Accordingly, as the Tenth Circuit stated in Lafferty, 949 F.2d at 1554-55:

This court cannot accept as consistent with Dusky and its progeny a finding of competency made under the view that a defendant who is unable to accurately perceive reality due to a paranoid delusional system need only act consistently with his paranoid delusion to be considered competent to stand trial.

Such a result, the Lafferty court held, cannot be reconciled with the requirements of due process. Id. at 1556.

Applying these principles here, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in finding defendant competent to stand trial, because it applied the incorrect legal standards in several respects.

First, in its initial finding of competence, the court did not consider whether defendant met his burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Instead, the court examined the evidence in the light most favorable to defendant. For the reasons noted above, this was error, and it is unclear to us whether the court relied on the same erroneous standard in its later finding of competence at trial following the Curtis advisement.

Second, the court did not properly assess defendant's competency according to the Dusky standard—that defendant must possess a sufficient present ability to consult with his counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, and a present rational and factual understanding of the proceedings against him. Instead, the court appears to have based its competency determination exclusively on whether defendant factually understood the...