State Of Washington v. Shaun Webb, 73813-5

Shaun Webb, an inmate housed in a Special Offender Unit for diagnosed mental health conditions, was charged with one count of custodial assault after punching Sgt. Dennis Bennett during a May 14, 2014 meeting with his mental health counselor.
During the meeting Sgt. Bennett ordered Webb to kneel; Webb refused, Bennett grabbed Webb's arm, Webb pulled away and struck Bennett in the temple; officers restrained Webb and he was taken to segregation.
Before trial the State moved in limine to exclude evidence of Webb’s diagnosed mental illnesses and related records; Webb told the court he intended to assert a general denial, not a diminished capacity defense.
The trial court granted the State’s motion, excluding mental-health evidence as irrelevant where diminished capacity was not raised; a jury convicted Webb of custodial assault.
On appeal Webb argued (1) exclusion of his mental-health evidence violated his right to present a defense and (2) trial counsel was ineffective for failing to pursue a diminished-capacity defense.
The Court of Appeals affirmed: exclusion did not deny the right to present a defense because Webb had not pursued diminished capacity, and the record was insufficient to show ineffective assistance of counsel.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether excluding evidence of Webb’s mental illness deprived him of his Sixth Amendment right to present a defense	Webb: mental-health evidence was relevant to context, officer bias, and impaired his ability to form intent; exclusion prevented meaningful defense	State: evidence irrelevant to elements of custodial assault absent a diminished-capacity theory; exclusion proper	Court: Exclusion was proper because Webb did not advance a diminished-capacity defense and the evidence was therefore not relevant to the charged offense
Whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by not raising diminished capacity	Webb: counsel should have pursued diminished-capacity defense based on his diagnoses	State: counsel’s tactical choices and the record do not prove deficient performance or prejudice	Court: Record insufficient to show deficiency or prejudice; no expert or supporting evidence in record to establish diminished capacity

Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284 (U.S. 1973) (constitutional right to present relevant evidence in defense)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-part ineffective assistance standard)
State v. Jones, 168 Wn.2d 713 (Wash. 2010) (due process/right to fair opportunity to defend)
State v. Byrd, 125 Wn.2d 707 (Wash. 1995) (assault requires specific intent)
State v. Ferrick, 81 Wn.2d 942 (Wash. 1973) (diminished-capacity defense defined)
State v. Atsbeha, 142 Wn.2d 904 (Wash. 2001) (expert testimony required to support diminished-capacity defense)
State v. Neal, 144 Wn.2d 600 (Wash. 2001) (trial court discretion to admit/exclude evidence)
State v. Sutherby, 165 Wn.2d 870 (Wash. 2009) (ineffective assistance framework reaffirmed)