Reese v. State
| Decision Date | 16 June 1989 |
| Docket Number | 6 Div. 763 |
| Citation | 549 So.2d 148 |
| Parties | Roderick Bernard REESE v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Mark B. Polson and John C. Robbins, Birmingham, for appellant.
Don Siegelman, Atty. Gen., and Gilda B. Williams, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Roderick Bernard Reese was charged in two separate indictments with the attempted murders of Vickie Boackle and Willie Smith, both officers of the Birmingham Police Department. The indictments were consolidated for trial and the defendant was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on each charge. He raises six issues on this appeal of those convictions.
First, Reese claims that the trial court erred by denying his motion for a psychological evaluation of his competency to stand trial. Defendant's trial began on March 21, 1988. On March 12, he wrote the following note and tied his belt to the overhead sprinkler system in his jail cell and tried to hang himself.
On March 16, at the request of the trial judge, Mrs. Donna Click, a psychiatric social worker with the Jefferson County jail, interviewed Reese to determine his competency to stand trial. Over defense counsel's objection that Mrs. Click was not qualified to give an opinion on Reese's competency because she was not a licensed psychiatrist, the trial court received Mrs. Click's testimony.
Mrs. Click stated that as a result of her interview with Reese she determined that he was oriented and able to answer questions, and, that although he was "concerned and worried about this case," he had no underlying psychiatric problems and did not need further examination. She testified that in her opinion Reese was competent to stand trial.
Defense counsel informed the court that, prior to the suicide attempt, Reese had been "very cooperative, very interested" in preparing for trial. Following the attempt, however, Reese was "depressed and despondent" and "very lackadaisical about his circumstances." Counsel stated that, based on his 15 years' experience in handling criminal cases, it was his opinion that Reese "was not able to fully and adequately assist in his defense" and "needed to be seen by someone better capable of rendering an opinion as to competency."
In response, the prosecutor argued to the trial court that Reese's suicide attempt was a "charade," and an attempt to avoid trial because it was "staged" at a time when a jailer was making a routine check of the cell block. Defense counsel responded that there was no indication that Reese knew the guard was making his rounds at the time of the hanging and concluded that "the sole fact that you have a[n apparent] suicide attempt is reason enough to order psychiatric evaluation."
Anderson v. State, 510 So.2d 578, 579 (Ala.Cr.App.1987). Ala.Code 1975, § 15-16-21, provides, in pertinent part:
"If any person charged with any felony is held in confinement under indictment and the trial court shall have reasonable ground to doubt his sanity, the trial of such person for such offense shall be suspended until the jury shall inquire into the fact of such sanity...."
This section authorizes the trial court to make a preliminary determination (without the aid of a jury) as to whether there are reasonable grounds to doubt the defendant's competency to stand trial. Ex parte LaFlore, 445 So.2d 932, 934 (Ala.1983); Richardson v. State, 354 So.2d 1193, 1196 (Ala.Cr.App.1978). The trial court is, thus, the "screening agent" for mental examination requests. Livingston v. State, 419 So.2d 270, 274 (Ala.Cr.App.1982).
The trial judge should consider any information bearing on the question of a defendant's mental state in making his determination, Buttram v. State, 338 So.2d 1062, 1064 (Ala.Cr.App.1976). Defense counsel's description of his client's emotional condition is relevant, but not entitled to conclusive effect. Williams v. State, 386 So.2d 506, 510-11 (Ala.Cr.App.1980). Nor is a suicide attempt conclusive evidence of a defendant's inability to understand the nature of the proceedings against him and to aid in his own defense. Dixon v. State, 357 So.2d 690, 699 (Ala.Cr.App.1978).
In the present case, it is apparent that the trial court considered all information bearing on Reese's mental condition, and concluded that he had not met his burden of showing a reasonable doubt about his competence so as to warrant further examination, see Waldrop v. State, 459 So.2d 953, 955 (Ala.Cr.App.1983), affirmed, Ex parte Waldrop, 459 So.2d 959 (Ala.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1030, 105 S.Ct. 2050, 85 L.Ed.2d 323 (1985). "It is left to the discretion of the trial court as to whether there is a reasonable or bona fide doubt as to sanity and, thus, whether a further examination is required." Id. In consideration of all the information presented to the trial judge, we cannot say that the denial of the motion for psychological evaluation constituted an abuse of discretion.
Prior to trial, the defense requested a continuance on two grounds: (1) to have Reese's competency to stand trial evaluated and (2) to locate two absent defense witnesses. The trial court's denial of the continuance on the first ground was not error because, as we have set out in Part I, the court was within its discretion in determining that there existed no reasonable ground to doubt Reese's competency. We now find that the second ground of the motion for continuance was also without merit.
The shooting of the two police officers in this case occurred about 3:00 o'clock on the morning of September 16, 1987. At trial, Reese presented an alibi defense, testifying that at the time in question he was asleep at the home of a friend, Ms. Carol Taylor. On the morning of the offense, the investigating officers interviewed Mr. William Smith, who claimed to have seen the shooting from a nearby convenience store. The defense subpoenaed Carol Taylor and William Smith and both subpoenas were returned "not found." Reese stated that he had last spoken to Ms. Taylor in December of 1987, and that he had been trying without success to locate her for three months prior to trial. Her telephone had been disconnected and Reese did not have her current address.
The District Attorney informed the court that his office had been trying, also without success, to locate Mr. Smith. Smith's telephone had likewise been disconnected. The District Attorney talked with Smith the morning of the shooting and he described Smith as "nutty as a fruitcake," arguing that any testimony he might give would be incompetent. Smith had mentioned that he went to the Western Mental Health Center, but upon contacting officials at that facility, the District Attorney learned that they had no knowledge of Smith's whereabouts.
In Ex parte Saranthus, 501 So.2d 1256 (Ala.1986), our Supreme Court set out the test for determining whether a continuance should be granted on the ground of an absent witness:
"If the following principles are satisfied, a trial court should grant a motion for continuance on the ground that a witness or evidence is absent: (1) The expected evidence must be material and competent; (2) there must be a probability that the evidence will be forthcoming if the case is continued; and (3) the moving party must have exercised due diligence to secure the evidence." Saranthus, 501 So.2d at 1257.
While we assume for present purposes that the first and third parts of the Saranthus test were met here, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the continuance based upon Reese's failure to satisfy the second Saranthus requirement. There was absolutely no showing that, if a continuance were granted, either Ms. Taylor or Mr. Smith could be located. In fact, all indications pointed to the contrary. Since even the State's efforts to find Mr. Smith had proved futile, and Reese's three-month attempt to locate Ms. Taylor had been fruitless, the trial court could rightly conclude there was no "probability" that these witnesses would be forthcoming if the case were continued. "A motion for a continuance in a criminal case is addressed to the sound discretion of the trial court, the exercise of which will not be disturbed unless clearly abused." Fletcher v. State, 291 Ala. 67, 68, 277 So.2d 882, 883 (1973); Butler v. State, 285 Ala. 387, 393, 232 So.2d 631, 635 (1970), cert. dismissed, 406 U.S. 939, 92 S.Ct. 1807, 32 L.Ed.2d 140 (1972) ().
Reese argues that the State exercised its peremptory strikes in violation of Batson v....
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