State v. Bruhn, 438 P.3d 1031

Single-vehicle accident: officers found a woman (passenger) and an ejected driver; documents and a driver’s license in debris identified Sandra Dee Bruhn as the passenger and registered owner.
Officers recovered methamphetamine (including crystals inside a knotted latex glove in Bruhn’s purse), other controlled substances, paraphernalia, and an open alcohol container; Bruhn was charged with multiple drug-possession counts and an open-container offense.
Bruhn’s trial counsel told the jury Bruhn suffered post-accident memory loss; Bruhn did not testify. The jury convicted her on all charges.
After trial, at sentencing Bruhn admitted possession and said she had moved her ID into the purse with the drugs; the district court imposed prison and recommended treatment.
On appeal Bruhn argued ineffective assistance because counsel did not request a competency evaluation despite known memory loss; she sought a Rule 23B remand with affidavits claiming significant memory and other post-concussive issues.
The Court of Appeals concluded Bruhn’s disclosed memory loss alone did not give counsel or a reasonable attorney sufficient basis to suspect incompetence and affirmed the convictions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a competency evaluation	Bruhn: counsel knew she suffered persistent memory loss after a traumatic accident and therefore should have sought a competency evaluation	State: memory loss alone did not indicate inability to understand proceedings or assist counsel; no other indicia of incompetence were known to trial counsel	Court: Counsel’s failure was not deficient—memory loss alone, without facts showing inability to consult or understand, did not require a competency evaluation; conviction affirmed

Lafferty v. State, 175 P.3d 530 (Utah 2007) (standard for proving deficient performance under Strickland)
State v. Robertson, 427 P.3d 361 (Utah Ct. App. 2018) (appellate review when ineffective-assistance claim raised first on appeal)
State v. Lee, 264 P.3d 239 (Utah Ct. App. 2011) (counsel not deficient if no basis to suspect incompetence)
State v. Biebinger, 428 P.3d 36 (Utah Ct. App. 2018) (facts known to counsel must amount to obvious signals of incompetency)
United States v. Dubrule, 822 F.3d 866 (6th Cir. 2016) (counsel’s failure to seek competency evaluation unreasonable only if sufficient indicia of incompetence existed)
United States v. Andrews, 469 F.3d 1113 (7th Cir. 2006) (amnesia alone does not render a defendant incompetent to stand trial)
United States v. Villegas, 899 F.2d 1324 (2d Cir. 1990) (amnesia about the crime does not automatically establish incompetence)
State v. Kincaid, 960 A.2d 711 (N.H. 2008) (memory loss alone does not raise bona fide doubt requiring competency hearing)