State v. Barnett

• Decision Date: 13 November 1995
• Parties: STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Joseph BARNETT, Appellant.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Page 423

909 S.W.2d 423

STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Joseph BARNETT, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Nov. 13, 1995.

Martha Yoakum, District Public Defender, David L. Glasgow, Tom Kimball, Assistant Public Defenders, Tazewell, for appellant.

Charles W. Burson, Attorney General & Reporter, Kimbra R. Spann, Assistant Attorney General, Nashville, William Paul Phillips, District Attorney General, Shane Sexton, Assistant District Attorney General, Jacksboro, for appellee.

OPINION

ANDERSON, Chief Justice.

We granted this appeal to determine whether an indigent defendant in a non-capital case is entitled to the appointment of an independent psychiatric expert at state expense to assist the defense in trial preparation. Both the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals denied the defendant's request for expert assistance. We conclude that when a defendant in a non-capital case demonstrates to the trial court in an ex parte proceeding that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the federal constitution, at a minimum, requires the State to provide the defendant access to a competent, independent psychiatric expert. Because in this case, the defendant failed to make the required threshold showing of "particularized need," we affirm the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

BACKGROUND

In April of 1991, the defendant, Joseph Barnett, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The defendant did not dispute the facts of the killing, but instead relied upon the defenses of insanity and voluntary intoxication. At trial, eyewitness testimony established that on June 27, 1990, the defendant shot his uncle with a shotgun, inside the defendant's grandmother's home. The defendant was extremely intoxicated at the time of the killing.

Other proof established that earlier, in 1983, the defendant had suffered severe injuries in a fire resulting in amputation of both his legs and loss of use of his hand. Because of the extent of the amputations, the defendant was not able to utilize artificial legs. He was unable to care for himself and lived with his mother and aunt prior to the killing. The defendant testified that it was difficult for him to cope with his disabilities. With regard to the killing, the defendant testified that he loved his uncle, believed his uncle had moved to Kentucky and was not dead, and that he did not intend to kill his uncle.

The proof demonstrated that Barnett also has a history of mental and emotional disturbance. He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Michigan in 1971 after he assaulted his mother. After an altercation with his family in January of 1989, Barnett complained of "black out spells" and of being "uncontrollable," and was transported by police to the emergency room at the Claiborne County hospital on January 26, 1989, but was discharged the next day into police custody.

There was further testimony that on February 22, 1989, the defendant was again taken to the emergency room at Claiborne County Hospital complaining of depression. From there he was transported to Lakeshore Mental Health Institute for treatment. The medical records at Lakeshore indicate that he was depressed, unable to control his temper, and had engaged in threatening behavior. Barnett was diagnosed as suffering from an "adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotion and conduct, [and] alcohol dependency." Various medications were prescribed, and he was referred for alcohol and drug treatment programs, but he refused. The defendant was discharged on March 24, 1989, after apparent improvement and after indicating that he no longer thought of harming himself or others.

Subsequently, on May 28, 1990, Barnett again visited the emergency room at Claiborne County Hospital, complaining of a "nervous condition" and stating that he "need[ed] to go back to Lakeshore." Against the advice and instructions of the staff, Barnett left the emergency room.

Following the June 27, 1990, murder of his uncle, Barnett was admitted to Lakeshore Mental Health Institute on January 16, 1991, for a forensic evaluation. He was diagnosed with "anti-social personality disorder, alcohol dependency, and substance dependency." Dr. Charles Shin, the staff psychiatrist who examined Barnett upon admission, testified that anti-social personality disorder is not a mental defect or disease. Based upon the evaluation, Dr. Shin concluded and testified that Barnett was competent to stand trial and was sane at the time of the commission of the offense.

Although neither the motion nor the order is in the record, a discussion between counsel and the trial court indicate that five days before trial, Barnett moved the court for an order appointing a state-funded psychiatric expert to assist the defense. Defense counsel said that he had been informed by a neuropsychologist who reviewed the findings of the Lakeshore forensic evaluation that the defendant possibly has cognitive brain damage which affects his mental ability and capacity to understand his actions. The psychologist suggested a CT scan and said that it would probably not reveal any degenerative disease of the brain, but might show the extent of any thought pattern disorder.

The trial court denied the motion for appointment of an expert, but allowed the CT scan which was apparently completed the day before trial. Defense counsel was orally advised by a physician that the CT scan was normal. The physician interpreting the results agreed with the neuropsychologist that the CT scan would not detect subtle abnormalities. The trial court again denied the defendant's request for expert assistance. The case proceeded to trial, and the defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

On appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Barnett argued that the trial court should have appointed a psychiatric expert to aid in the preparation and implementation of his defense. The Court of Criminal Appeals acknowledged that the United States Supreme Court in a capital case has held "that when a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the defendant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense." Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68, 83, 105 S.Ct. 1087, 1096, 84 L.Ed.2d 53 (1985). Concluding that the Ake holding is limited to capital cases and that there is no Tennessee statutory authority requiring appointment of an expert in non-capital cases, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion for appointment of an expert at State expense.

We granted the defendant's appeal to decide whether a non-capital defendant is constitutionally entitled to the assistance of a state-funded psychiatric expert. We now affirm the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment, on the separate grounds stated below.

RIGHT TO STATE-FUNDED PSYCHIATRIC EXPERT

In this Court, the defendant asserts that the Court of Criminal Appeals erroneously limited the holding of Ake to capital cases. He argues that the denial of his motion for appointment of a psychiatric expert deprived him of his right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of both the Tennessee and the United States Constitutions. See U.S. Const. amend. XIV; Tenn. Const. Art. I, § 8. The State first argues that Ake was a capital case and is limited in application, as the Court of Criminal Appeals held, to capital cases. Assuming Ake applies to non-capital cases, however, the State asserts that the trial court correctly denied the motion because the defendant failed to make the threshold showing of particularized need required under Ake.

Initially, we note that there is no Tennessee statute authorizing appointment of experts at state expense for indigent non-capital defendants. Cf. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-14-207(b) (1990 and Supp.1994), and Tenn.Sup.Ct.R. 13 (governing appointment of experts in capital cases). Accordingly, we must determine whether the right claimed is of constitutional dimension.

In Ake, the United States Supreme Court considered the issue of "whether the Constitution requires that an indigent defendant have access to the psychiatric examination and assistance necessary to prepare an effective defense based on his mental condition, when his sanity at the time of the offense is seriously in question." Id, 470 U.S. at 70, 105 S.Ct. at 1090.

The Court began its analysis by reiterating the well-established rule that when a State brings its judicial power to bear against an indigent defendant in a criminal proceeding, it must take steps to insure that the accused has a fair opportunity to present his defense. Ake, 470 U.S. at 76, 105 S.Ct. at 1092. The Court emphasized that this principle of law is grounded in the Fourteenth Amendment's due process guarantee of fundamental fairness and "derives from the belief that justice cannot be equal where, simply as a result of his poverty, a defendant is denied the opportunity to participate meaningfully in a judicial proceeding in which his liberty is at stake." Id. While a State need not provide an indigent defendant with all the assistance his wealthier counterpart might buy, the Court stressed that fundamental fairness requires a State to provide an indigent defendant with the " 'basic tools of an adequate defense or appeal.' " Ake, 470 U.S. at 77, 105 S.Ct. at 1092, quoting Britt v. North Carolina, 404 U.S. 226, 227, 92 S.Ct. 431, 433, 30 L.Ed.2d 400 (1971). ¹

In determining whether or not participation of a psychiatrist is important enough to the preparation of the defense as to be characterized as one of the "basic tools," the Court applied a three-factor balancing test and considered (1) the private interest affected by the...