Reynolds v. Norris

• Decision Date: 13 June 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-3154,95-3154
• Citation: 86 F.3d 796
• Parties: Willie REYNOLDS, Appellee, v. Larry NORRIS, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 796

86 F.3d 796

Willie REYNOLDS, Appellee, v. Larry NORRIS, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellant.

No. 95-3154.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 14, 1996.

Decided June 13, 1996.

Olan W. Reeves, Little Rock, AR, argued (Todd L. Newton, on the brief), for appellant.

David O. Bowden, Little Rock, AR, argued for appellee.

Before WOLLMAN, HEANEY and BRIGHT, Circuit Judges.

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge.

Larry Norris, the Director of the Arkansas Department of Correction, appeals the order of the district court granting Willie Reynolds his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. ¹ The district court determined that sufficient doubt existed concerning Reynolds' competency at the time of trial to require a further competency hearing and ordered that the writ of habeas corpus be issued and Reynolds be discharged, unless the State of Arkansas elected to retry him within 120 days. Norris appeals, asserting that there exists insufficient evidence of a change in circumstances between the pre-trial competency hearing and the trial itself to warrant a further hearing. Although we agree with the determination of the district court that the state trial court should have granted a competency hearing during the trial, this conclusion does not require the issuance of the writ at this time. Accordingly, we vacate the order granting the writ and remand the case to the district court to conduct a hearing on Reynolds' competency at the time of trial.

I. BACKGROUND

A jury convicted Reynolds of the murder of Lewis McElyea. Prior to the murder, Reynolds' girlfriend, Mae Paul, had been living with McElyea and his wife. Paul, who has an obvious mental disability, was approximately seventy-five years old at the time. On the night of the murder, Paul met Reynolds and allegedly told him that McElyea had stolen her blouse, taken money from her, and molested her. Reynolds was drinking heavily that night. Reynolds went to McElyea's house where, after confronting McElyea about the accusations, he repeatedly struck McElyea in the head with a claw hammer. Reynolds then removed some money from the house and left with Paul. After his arrest, Reynolds admitted that he had killed McElyea but claimed that he acted in self-defense because McElyea had brandished a firearm during the confrontation.

Reynolds was approximately fifty years old at the time of his arrest. He has an I.Q. in the 76-80 range and has a long history of mental illness and alcohol abuse. He has had numerous problems with the law, including an acquittal by mental disease or defect in 1982, and has been treated at the Arkansas State Hospital on several occasions. ² Reynolds has been diagnosed as either paranoid schizophrenic or schizoid affective.

In November of 1989, Reynolds entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental defect. On January 26, 1990, he was admitted to the Arkansas State Hospital for evaluation. Following a month of observation, Drs. Wendell Hall and Michael Simon of the state hospital submitted a report to the court stating that Reynolds was unfit to proceed to trial because he was unable to cooperate effectively with an attorney in the preparation of his defense. Reynolds was then committed to the state hospital for treatment. As part of his treatment, Reynolds was placed on medication and enrolled in a "competency class." ³ After Reynolds completed about nine months of treatment, Dr. Hall submitted a letter indicating that Reynolds had improved and was fit to proceed. Reynolds was subsequently discharged from the hospital and placed in the county jail.

The trial court held its first competency hearing on November 9, 1990. Dr. Hall was the sole witness at the hearing. Dr. Hall testified that although Reynolds had a serious mental illness, he possessed the ability to assist his attorney and to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him. Dr. Hall indicated that Reynolds was being treated with medication, and that his condition could deteriorate if he failed to continue on the medication. At the close of the hearing, the trial court found Reynolds competent to stand trial, and scheduled a trial date.

On April 25, 1991, the court granted Reynolds' motion for a re-examination at the state hospital. Reynolds entered the hospital on July 15th for a thirty-day period of observation. Reynolds was last interviewed at the hospital on August 13th. A second competency hearing was held on October 4, 1991. Drs. Hall and Simon and petitioner Reynolds testified at the hearing. Dr. Simon testified that he was concerned with Reynolds' ability to cooperate with his attorney. He concluded that although he considered Reynolds to be competent, it was "not a clear cut case." Dr. Hall testified that Reynolds was "fit to proceed" at this time, although he did indicate that Reynolds had not taken his medication while in jail. The trial court again found Reynolds competent to proceed to trial.

Reynolds requested a third competency hearing on December 16, 1991. The court denied the request, and the trial convened on February 25, 1992. Prior to the commencement of testimony, Reynolds' counsel reiterated that they believed Reynolds was not competent to stand trial and that they anticipated requesting further evaluation after the testimony of their expert at trial.

Reynolds testified in his own behalf at trial. Dr. James Moneypenny, a psychologist, also testified for the defense. Dr. Moneypenny stated that based on Reynolds' medical records, the reports of Drs. Hall and Simon, and his own three examinations of Reynolds between November 1991 and February 1992, Reynolds was not competent to stand trial. Dr. Moneypenny testified that Reynolds' testimony at trial showed "significant delusion." In rebuttal, Dr. Hall testified that petitioner was competent to stand trial, although Dr. Hall's testimony did not specifically evaluate Reynolds' condition on the day of trial. The trial court made no express findings concerning Reynolds' competency.

The jury convicted Reynolds of the murder, and the conviction was upheld on appeal. Reynolds v. State, 310 Ark. 688, 840 S.W.2d 795 (1992). After the state courts denied his claims for post-conviction relief, Reynolds filed a petition for habeas corpus in the federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

The district court determined that circumstances had changed since the second competency hearing such that the trial court should have suspended the trial and granted Reynolds' motion for a further evaluation. The district court concluded that a reasonable judge, situated as was the trial court judge, should have had a substantial doubt as to whether Reynolds had a rational understanding of the proceedings. The district court then ordered that the writ of habeas corpus be issued and that Reynolds be discharged unless the state elected to retry him.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Failure To Hold a Competency Hearing

"It is well established that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the criminal prosecution of a defendant who is not competent to stand trial." Medina v. California, 505 U.S. 437, 439, 112 S.Ct. 2572, 2574, 120 L.Ed.2d 353 (1992) (citing Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 95 S.Ct. 896, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975) and Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966)). In order to be competent to stand trial one must have "the capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense." Drope, 420 U.S. at 171, 95 S.Ct. at 903. A defendant is competent to stand trial if "he has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding--and [if] he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him." Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960).

" 'Competence to stand trial is rudimentary, for upon it depends the main part of those rights deemed essential to a fair trial, including the right to effective assistance of counsel, the rights to summon, to confront, and to cross-examine witnesses, and the right to testify on one's own behalf or to remain silent without penalty for doing so.' " Cooper v. Oklahoma, --- U.S. ----, ----, 116 S.Ct. 1373, 1376, 134 L.Ed.2d 498 (1996) (quoting Riggins v. Nevada, 504 U.S. 127, 139-40, 112 S.Ct. 1810, 1817, 118 L.Ed.2d 479 (1992) (Kennedy, J. concurring)). "[A]n erroneous determination of competence threatens a 'fundamental component of our criminal justice system'--the basic fairness of the trial itself." Id. at ----, 116 S.Ct. at 1381 (citation omitted).

To safeguard this due process guarantee, the Supreme Court has established a separate procedural due process right to a competency hearing. Drope, 420 U.S. at 172, 95 S.Ct. at 904; Griffin v. Lockhart, 935 F.2d 926, 929 (8th Cir.1991). Due process requires the trial court to hold a competency hearing, either on motion or sua sponte, whenever evidence raises a "sufficient doubt" about the accused's mental competency to stand trial. ⁴ Branscomb v. Norris, 47 F.3d 258, 261 (8th Cir.) (citing Griffin, 935 F.2d at 929), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 2260, 132 L.Ed.2d 266 (1995); United States v. Day, 949 F.2d 973, 981 (8th Cir.1991). Any time evidence appears which raises a sufficient doubt about the accused's mental competency, the trial court must order a competency hearing. See Speedy v. Wyrick, 702 F.2d 723, 727 (8th Cir.1983). As the Supreme Court noted in Drope, "[e]ven when a defendant is competent at the commencement of his trial, a trial court must always be alert to circumstances suggesting a change that would render the accused unable to meet the standards of competence to stand trial." 420 U.S. at 181, 95 S.Ct. at 908.

While the Supreme Court has not described the precise quantum of proof necessary to establish sufficient doubt, it has indicated that the trial court should...