State v. Beaudoin

• Decision Date: 21 November 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-185.,07-185.
• Citation: 970 A.2d 39,2008 VT 133
• Parties: STATE of Vermont v. Ronald BEAUDOIN.
• Court: Vermont Supreme Court

970 A.2d 39

2008 VT 133

STATE of Vermont v. Ronald BEAUDOIN.

No. 07-185.

Supreme Court of Vermont.

November 21, 2008.

Thomas Donovan, Jr., Chittenden County State's Attorney, and Pamela Hall Johnson, Deputy State's Attorney, Burlington, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Matthew F. Valerio, Defender General, and Anna Saxman, Deputy Defender General, Montpelier, for Defendant-Appellant.

Present: REIBER, C.J., DOOLEY, JOHNSON, SKOGLUND and BURGESS, JJ.

REIBER, C.J.

¶ 1. Defendant Ronald Beaudoin appeals from his convictions, after a jury trial, for two counts of lewd or lascivious conduct with a child, 13 V.S.A. § 2602. Defendant received concurrent sentences of twenty-five years to life, all suspended except seven years.¹ In this appeal, he contends that the trial court made numerous errors specific to competency. He also argues that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury to consider the lesser-included offense of engaging in lewdness, 13 V.S.A. § 2632(a)(8). We affirm.

¶ 2. On February 12, 2005, defendant, while playing hide-and-seek with the eight-year-old complainant and her younger brother, touched complainant's vagina underneath her clothing. Complainant was taken to the police station where she told investigators that defendant had touched her vagina that day and also touched her vagina over her clothing on a previous occasion. Defendant was arrested and charged with two counts of lewd or lascivious conduct with a child, 13 V.S.A. § 2602.

I. Competency

¶ 3. Defendant asserts numerous claims of error specific to competency. Defendant argues that the court (1) erred in finding defendant competent to stand trial; (2) erred in failing to conduct a second competency evaluation during pretrial proceedings; and (3) failed to follow the court's own recommendations for ensuring defendant received a fair trial. We will take each issue in turn.

¶ 4. Between defendant's arraignment in February 2005 and his trial in October 2006, competency was discussed multiple times. The issue first arose at a status conference on April 12, 2005, when the court inquired about why the thirty-seven-year-old defendant had a guardian who was present in court, and defense counsel requested a competency evaluation. Dr. Jonathan Weker, a forensic psychiatrist who had conducted approximately 1,000 competency evaluations, performed the evaluation and submitted a report dated May 26, 2005, concluding that defendant was competent to stand trial. Disputing Dr. Weker's conclusion, defendant moved for a competency hearing.

¶ 5. At the contested competency hearing, Dr. Weker testified that he based his opinion on the fact that defendant was aware of the charges against him, he was aware of who his attorney was and of their relationship, and he was aware that trial is fundamentally an adversarial process.

¶ 6. After the first day of testimony, the parties discovered that defendant had been evaluated for competency to stand trial on three prior occasions. The hearing was rescheduled to allow Dr. Weker to review the previous evaluations. When the hearing resumed, Dr. Weker testified that defendant has a sense of the basic paradigm of a trial involving two adversarial parties and a neutral fact-finder, is capable of understanding how evidence and witness testimony might be presented, has an understanding of the concept of guilt, and has some understanding of a plea bargain. Dr. Weker indicated that although defendant may not remember or understand certain points or statements during trial, this fact "doesn't exclude or preclude competency." He indicated that defendant's failure to understand certain points made during the course of a trial "suggests a need for accommodation to it." Dr. Weker's recommended accommodations included using simple vocabulary and grammar, explaining technical legal terms, allowing time for defendant's attorney to ascertain at frequent intervals that defendant comprehended what transpired, or appointing a facilitator to ensure that defendant understood the proceedings.

¶ 7. The district court also heard testimony from defendant's expert, Dr. Patricia Stone, a clinical psychologist. The court found that Dr. Stone had performed approximately fifteen to twenty competency evaluations.² Dr. Stone is not a forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Stone's opinion was based on her interview with defendant, tests conducted with defendant, as well as reviewing Dr. Weker's competency report and defendant's three prior competency evaluations. Dr. Stone concluded that "because of his mental retardation and severe problems with language problem solving ... he would be incompetent because he would not have rational understanding."

¶ 8. Defendant first claims that the trial court erred in finding him competent to stand trial. We will not overturn the trial court's competency determination if it is supported by findings and if the findings are supported by credible evidence and are not clearly erroneous. State v. Tribble, 2005 VT 132, ¶ 10, 179 Vt. 235, 892 A.2d 232. To be competent to stand trial, a defendant must have "sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding — and [must have] a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him." Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960); accord State v. Bean, 171 Vt. 290, 294, 762 A.2d 1259, 1262 (2000). Trying an incompetent defendant deprives him of his due process right to a fair trial. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 385, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966).

¶ 9. In making its finding and conclusions, the court listened to three days of testimony. In addition, the trial court engaged in a colloquy with defendant, reviewed the three prior competency evaluations from 1991, 1994, and 2001, and reviewed the reports of Drs. Weker and Stone. The court found that Dr. Stone's opinion and conclusion were based on a series of psychological tests she administered to defendant. The court noted that Dr. Stone's summary of her inquiry into competency issues was limited to a single paragraph of her report.

¶ 10. The court found that Dr. Weker's opinion and conclusion were based on an interview with defendant and a review of the State's information and affidavit. Dr. Weker's conclusion was that defendant was competent and noted in support that defendant was able to give a detailed account of the incident in question to Detective Duffy, including a denial of any wrongdoing and a refusal to answer any more questions until he spoke to a lawyer. Dr. Weker found that defendant was able to speak of the charges against him and the court proceeding.

¶ 11. Based on the extensive testimony and evidence presented during the competency hearing, and on Dr. Weker's interview with defendant and resulting competency evaluation, the court found that:

[defendant] was able to inform Dr. Weker of the charges against him and their relative severity. He knew that his case was being heard in the Chittenden Court. He was able to identify his attorney and where she worked. He believe[d] that his attorney was trying to do a good job for him. She had informed him that the state wanted a 5 to 20 year sentence. He had no disagreements with his attorney and if one arose he believed that he could speak up to her.

[Defendant] was able to describe the basic function of a trial. He was able to distinguish between pleas of guilty and not guilty, and knew that he could plead the latter. He knew that his lawyer was trying to fight the case and that the prosecutor was advocating that he be punished. Dr. Weker then described the trial process for [defendant], returning to the subject several minutes later to see how well [defendant] had retained the information. [Defendant] was able to describe the process. He was also aware of proper courtroom decorum and believed that he could conform appropriately. He was able to assess the likelihood of being found not guilty and the consequences for being found guilty (maximum life sentence) or not guilty (release). He knew he could receive less than the maximum sentence and was familiar with probation. He was unfamiliar with plea bargaining and with his right to appeal, but appeared to understand Dr. Weker's explanation.

¶ 12. The court concluded that Dr. Weker's opinion was persuasive as he had vast experience and focused his evaluation on the issues particularly pertinent to a competency determination. The court concluded that Dr. Weker's opinion was consistent with prior forensic psychiatric evaluations of defendant. In addition, the court concluded that defendant's extensive experience in the criminal court bolstered Dr. Weker's conclusion.

¶ 13. There is sufficient evidence in the record to support the court's findings, which in turn support its conclusion that defendant was competent to stand trial. As outlined above, Dr. Weker found that defendant knew the charges against him and their relative severity, he could describe the basic functions of a trial, he could distinguish between guilty and not guilty, he knew the role of his attorney and the prosecutor, and he appeared to understand the concept of plea bargaining and his right to appeal after Dr. Weker's explanation. The court noted that defendant had been found competent to stand trial in 2001 and 1994 and had extensive experience with the criminal court system. The court's competency determination was not clearly erroneous; therefore we affirm its determination. Tribble, 2005 VT 132, ¶ 10, 179 Vt. 235, 892 A.2d 232.

¶ 14. Second, defendant asserts that the trial court erred in failing to hold a second hearing on competency during pretrial motion hearings. This claim is made for the first time on appeal. While defense counsel repeatedly stated her objection to the competency determination, she at no time asked the court for a second hearing and never objected to the court's failure to conduct a second inquiry.³...