State v. Mann

• Decision Date: 23 February 1994
• Docket Number: No. 91-1850,91-1850
• Citation: 512 N.W.2d 528
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Jeremy Jason MANN, Appellant. Jeremy Jason MANN, Appellant, v. STATE of Iowa, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 528

512 N.W.2d 528

STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Jeremy Jason MANN, Appellant.

Jeremy Jason MANN, Appellant, v. STATE of Iowa, Appellee.

No. 91-1850.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Feb. 23, 1994.

Dean Stowers of The Rosenberg Law Firm, Des Moines, for appellant.

Bonnie J. Campbell, Atty. Gen., Bridget Chambers, Asst. Atty. Gen., Paul L. Martin, County Atty., and Gregg R. Rosenbladt, Asst. County Atty., for appellee.

Considered by LARSON, P.J., and LAVORATO, SNELL, ANDREASEN, and TERNUS, JJ.

LARSON, Justice.

In these combined appeals, Jeremy Mann challenges his conviction of first-degree kidnapping and attempted murder and the district court's denial of postconviction relief. We affirm on both appeals.

In the afternoon of May 30, 1991, a seven-year-old girl reported that she had been picked up, sexually abused, and thrown into the Winnebago River. She described her assailant and the truck he was driving. Police investigation led to an application for an arrest warrant for nineteen-year-old Jeremy Mann. A warrant was also issued to search his truck and his parents' home, where he lived.

The police arrested Mann at approximately 11:15 p.m. They took him into custody, read him his Miranda warnings, obtained his written waiver, and interrogated him for approximately three hours. During that time, Mann made several incriminating statements.

Mann requested, and received, a psychiatric evaluation for purposes of a possible insanity or diminished capacity defense. Mann did not, however, request a competency evaluation, and none was ordered.

Mann's motion to suppress his statements on Miranda grounds was overruled, and the case proceeded to trial to the court, following Mann's waiver of a jury trial.

Following his conviction, Mann filed an application for postconviction relief, which was rejected. The appeals from the criminal convictions and the denial of postconviction relief were consolidated.

In his appeals, Mann raises numerous issues and subissues. The principal issues however, may be summarized as: the court's (1) refusal to order a competency examination and hearing, (2) failure to disclose alleged grounds for recusal, and (3) failure to suppress statements allegedly made in violation of Miranda. Other issues, including alleged errors in evidence rulings, ineffective assistance of counsel, and district court procedural rulings, are also raised and will be discussed briefly.

I. The Competency Hearing.

It has long been accepted that a person whose mental condition is such that he lacks the capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense may not be subjected to a trial.

Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 171, 95 S.Ct. 896, 903, 43 L.Ed.2d 103, 112-13 (1975). Accord State v. Edwards, 507 N.W.2d 393, 395 (Iowa 1993).

In federal cases, the test is whether a criminal defendant "has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding--and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him." Drope, 420 U.S. at 172, 95 S.Ct. at 904, 43 L.Ed.2d at 113 (quoting Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824, 825 (1960)).

Due process requires that a hearing be held to determine the competency of a defendant when there is sufficient doubt of the defendant's mental capacity to show a need for further inquiry. See Drope, 420 U.S. at 180, 95 S.Ct. at 908, 43 L.Ed.2d at 118. When "sufficient doubt" exists as to the defendant's competency, the trial court has an absolute responsibility to order a hearing sua sponte. Id. at 181, 95 S.Ct. at 908, 43 L.Ed.2d at 119.

Iowa Code section 812.3 requires a competency hearing if the "record contains information from which a reasonable person would believe a substantial question of the defendant's competency exists." See Edwards, 507 N.W.2d at 395; Jones v. State, 479 N.W.2d 265, 270 (Iowa 1991); State v. Kempf, 282 N.W.2d 704, 706 (Iowa 1979). Our review on this matter is de novo. Jones, 479 N.W.2d at 270.

The relevant considerations include (1) the defendant's apparent irrational behavior, (2) any other demeanor that suggests a competency problem, and (3) any prior medical opinion of which the trial court is aware. Id.; State v. Myers, 460 N.W.2d 458, 460 (Iowa 1990); see also Drope, 420 U.S. at 180, 95 S.Ct. at 908, 43 L.Ed.2d at 118.

Mann asserts on appeal that he "is functioning subnormally in his mental process" and has a "history of mental, emotional, and psychiatric problems." However, subnormal intelligence is only one factor to be considered in determining whether an accused is competent to stand trial; it will not in itself bar the trial. State v. Stoddard, 180 N.W.2d 448, 449 (Iowa 1970).

There is a presumption that a defendant is competent to stand trial, Jones, 479 N.W.2d at 270; State v. Pedersen, 309 N.W.2d 490, 496 (Iowa 1981), and the burden is on the defendant to prove otherwise. Jones, 479 N.W.2d at 270; Pedersen, 309 N.W.2d at 496. The standard of review is "whether a reasonable judge, situated as was the trial court judge whose failure to conduct an evidentiary hearing is being reviewed, should have experienced doubt with respect to competency to stand trial." Griffin v. Lockhart, 935 F.2d 926, 930 (8th Cir.1991).

In the present case, a competency examination was not requested by the defendant. There is no evidence that the defendant behaved irrationally or failed to understand the nature of the proceedings in which he was involved, nor did the psychiatric examination he requested suggest that he was not competent to stand trial.

Without a request for a competency evaluation or apparent indicia of incompetency to prompt a court to investigate further on its own, we cannot say that "a reasonable person [would] believe a substantial question of the defendant's competency existed" under Iowa Code section 812.3 or under the tests of the federal cases discussed above.

II. Recusal of the Judge.

The second issue, relating to the background of the trial judge, affects the appeals in both the criminal case and the postconviction case.

After the trial and prior to the postconviction hearing, Mann's counsel wrote to the trial judge to verify information the lawyer had obtained after the trial regarding the judge's alleged sexual victimization as a child. The judge replied that he and his brothers had been required to engage in sex acts with an adult relative, but the judge believed that he had been impartial in Mann's trial. In fact, he stated he did not give his own experience any thought as the Mann trial approached. Nevertheless, the trial judge recused himself from hearing the postconviction action.

There is a constitutional right to have a neutral and detached judge. See Ward v. Village of Monroeville, 409 U.S. 57, 60, 93 S.Ct. 80, 84, 34 L.Ed.2d 267, 270 (1972); 13A Charles A. Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice and Procedure § 3541, at 548 (1984) [hereinafter Wright & Miller]. However, it has been observed that speculation is not sufficient, and "[t]here is as much obligation for a judge not to recuse when there is no occasion for him to do so as there is for him to do so when there is." Hinman v. Rogers, 831 F.2d 937, 939 (10th Cir.1987). The reason is said to be the "ever mounting sea of litigation" and the need to maximize all available judge power. Brody v. President & Fellows of Harvard College, 664 F.2d 10, 12 (1st Cir.1981).

Canon 3(D)(1) of our Code of Judicial Conduct provides that "[a] judge should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned." Mann asserts that, under this canon, the trial judge should have disqualified himself, or at least revealed the details of his background before trial so Mann could ask the trial judge to recuse himself or at least make a more informed decision on whether to waive a jury.

There are no Iowa cases applying Canon 3(D)(1) under similar circumstances, but federal cases lend some insight. The language of 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) is virtually identical to our canon. That statute provides:

Any justice, judge, or magistrate of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

The purpose of the federal statute, and presumably Canon 3(D), is to replace the "in the opinion of the judge" test with a "reasonable person" test. In other words, the test is not whether the judge self-questions his own impartiality, but whether a reasonable person would question it. Thus, an objective test is substituted for a purely subjective one. See Davis v. Board of Sch. Comm'rs, 517 F.2d 1044, 1052 (5th Cir.1975).

Disqualification under the federal statute is committed to the sound discretion of the court, United States v. Burger, 964 F.2d 1065, 1070 (10th Cir.1992); Hinman, 831 F.2d at 938, and we have applied the same rule under our canon. See State v. Smith, 242 N.W.2d 320, 323-24 (Iowa 1976). The burden of showing grounds for recusal is on the party seeking it. Id. at 324.

The "reasonable person" test, as embodied in the canon, inquires whether reasonable persons with knowledge of all facts would conclude that the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. See Datagate, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 941 F.2d 864, 871 (9th Cir.1991).

Because of the necessarily imprecise nature of the concept involved, the test depends on the interaction of two variables: the remoteness of the interest and its extent or degree. See Wright & Miller § 3547, at 603.

Scienter is not an element of a violation of § 455(a). Nor do we believe it should be required under Canon 3(D)(1). Even a judge who is unaware of disqualifying factors may nevertheless be expected to recuse if the "reasonable person" test is met. The reason "is that people who have not served on the...