State v. Mobley
| Decision Date | 17 January 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. COA16-545,COA16-545 |
| Citation | 251 N.C.App. 665,795 S.E.2d 437 |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina, Plaintiff, v. Johnny Darnell MOBLEY, Defendant. |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Special Deputy Attorney General David W. Boone, for the State.
Lisa Miles, for defendant-appellant.
Johnny Darnell Mobley (defendant) appeals from a judgment entered upon his convictions for trafficking in marijuana by possession and transportation, and for having attained the status of an habitual felon. On appeal defendant argues that the trial court erred by failing to appoint an expert to conduct an investigation into defendant's competence to proceed to trial, and by denying defendant's motion to dismiss the charges against him. After careful consideration of defendant's arguments in light of the record and the applicable law, we conclude that, on the facts of this case, the trial court erred by failing to appoint an expert to investigate defendant's competence to stand trial. Accordingly, we reverse and remand without reaching the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence to support defendant's convictions.
On 29 January 2015, defendant was arrested on charges of trafficking in more than ten but fewer than 50 pounds of marijuana by possession and by transportation, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90–95(h)(1) (2015). Counsel was appointed to represent defendant on 30 January 2015. Defendant was indicted for these offenses on 2 March 2015, and was indicted on 5 October 2015 for having attained the status of an habitual felon. The charges against defendant came on for trial at the 10 February 2016 criminal session of Gaston County Superior Court. Prior to the start of trial, defendant's counsel expressed concern about defendant's having fallen asleep in the courtroom. The trial court conducted a discussion with defendant and counsel, which is described in detail below, and then ruled that defendant was competent to proceed to trial.
The evidence presented by the State at trial tended to show the following: On 28 January 2015, Postal Inspector Justin Crooks inspected a package at the U.S. Post Office in Mount Holly, North Carolina. The package gave off an odor of marijuana; accordingly, he obtained assistance from a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Detective who worked with a dog that is trained to identify narcotics. After the dog indicated that the suspicious package contained narcotics, Inspector Crooks obtained a federal search warrant to inspect the contents of the package. Inside the package were two bundles of green vegetable matter weighing over 23 pounds. The contents appeared to be marijuana. This was later confirmed by forensic testing and the parties do not dispute that the package in fact contained marijuana.
After Inspector Crooks examined the contents of the package, he contacted Officer E. Kyle Yancey of the Gaston County Police Department, who arranged for a controlled delivery of the package. The controlled delivery took place on 29 January 2015. Postal Inspector Mark Heath drove a postal service vehicle and wore a mail carrier's uniform. When Inspector Heath arrived at the location to which the package was addressed, he parked at the curb and got out of the postal service vehicle with the package. As Inspector Heath walked toward the house, he was met by defendant, who accepted the package and signed a postal form acknowledging delivery of the package. Upon Inspector Heath's return to the postal service vehicle, he saw defendant "placing the package into the cargo area of the Ford Explorer that was parked there in the driveway." Inspector Heath radioed law enforcement officers who were in the area and informed them that defendant had accepted the package before placing it a vehicle and driving away. A few minutes later the officers stopped defendant's vehicle. Defendant was arrested and charged with trafficking in marijuana by possession and transportation.
On 11 February 2016, the jury returned verdicts finding defendant guilty of trafficking in marijuana by possession and by transportation. Defendant entered a plea of guilty to having the status of an habitual felon. The trial court consolidated the offenses for purposes of sentencing, and sentenced defendant to 60 to 84 months’ imprisonment. Defendant gave notice of appeal in open court.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A–1001(a) (2015) provides that:
No person may be tried, convicted, sentenced, or punished for a crime when by reason of mental illness or defect he is unable to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to comprehend his own situation in reference to the proceedings, or to assist in his defense in a rational or reasonable manner. This condition is hereinafter referred to as "incapacity to proceed."
State v. Shytle , 323 N.C. 684, 688, 374 S.E.2d 573, 575 (1989) (citations omitted). "The test of a defendant's mental capacity to stand trial is whether he has, at the time of trial, the capacity to comprehend his position, to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him, to conduct his defense in a rational manner, and to cooperate with his counsel to the end that any available defense may be interposed." State v. Cooper , 286 N.C. 549, 565, 213 S.E.2d 305, 316 (1975) (citations omitted). In determining whether a defendant has the capacity to proceed, the fact that a defendant has been diagnosed with a mental illness does not, standing alone, require a finding that the defendant is incompetent to stand trial. In Cooper , our Supreme Court held that:
In this instance, there was ample expert medical testimony to support the trial court's finding that the defendant was competent to plead to the charges against him and to stand trial. The fact that the defendant had to be given medication periodically during the trial, in order to prevent exacerbation of his mental illness by the tensions of the courtroom, does not require a finding that he was not competent to stand trial when, as here, the undisputed medical testimony is that the medication did not have the effect of dulling his mind and that the specified dosage was adequate to keep his mental illness in remission.
Cooper , 286 N.C. at 566, 213 S.E.2d at 317.
"[A] trial judge is required to hold a competency hearing when there is a bona fide doubt as to the defendant's competency even absent a request." State v. Staten , 172 N.C.App. 673, 678, 616 S.E.2d 650, 654–55, disc. review denied , 360 N.C. 180, 626 S.E.2d 838 (2005). "A trial court has a constitutional duty to institute, sua sponte , a competency hearing if there is substantial evidence before the court indicating that the accused may be mentally incompetent." State v. Badgett , 361 N.C. 234, 259, 644 S.E.2d 206, 221 (2007) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
In the present case, defendant's trial began on the morning of Wednesday, 10 February 2016. Prior to the introduction of evidence, the trial court conducted pretrial proceedings lasting approximately three hours, including jury selection and a hearing on defendant's motion to suppress evidence. Before the trial court took a lunch recess, defendant's trial counsel asked to bring a matter to the trial court's attention. Following a brief unrecorded bench conference, the trial court asked defendant to stand, and conducted a colloquy with defendant:
Defendant told the trial court that despite having a full night's sleep the night before, he was having difficulty following the proceedings in court. The trial court conducted an additional inquiry into defendant's comprehension of the legal proceedings. Defendant's behavior was respectful and appropriate, and his answers to the court's questions were not irrational or delusional. Defendant demonstrated a general, if limited, understanding of the charges against him and of the prior history of the case. For example, he knew that he was charged with trafficking in marijuana and being an habitual...
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State v. Allen
...at the time of trial" given that "a defendant's capacity to stand trial is not necessarily static." Id. (quoting State v. Mobley , 251 N.C. App. 665, 675, 795 S.E.2d 437 (2017) ). In addition, the Court of Appeals noted that the trial court has a constitutional duty to initiate a competency......
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State v. Sides
...a rational manner, and to cooperate with his counsel to the end that any available defense may be interposed. State v. Mobley , ––– N.C. App. ––––, ––––, 795 S.E.2d 437, 439 (2017) (citations, quotation marks, and brackets omitted).A trial judge is required to hold a competency hearing when......
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State v. Allen, COA18-1150
...a defendant is deficient under any of these tests he or she does not have the capacity to proceed." State v. Mobley , 251 N.C. App. 665, 667, 795 S.E.2d 437, 439 (2017) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)."A defendant's competency to stand trial is not necessarily static, but c......