State v. Johnson, 165 So. 3d 961

Defendant Joshua Johnson was convicted by jury of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling and forgery; sentenced as a second felony offender to 24 years (burglary) and 10 years (forgery).
Stolen items from victim Shennette Julien’s home included checks; one check made out to Johnson for $500 was cashed. Fingerprints and stolen property linked defendant to the home; defendant admitted burglary and forging/cashing a check.
Defense requested a competency commission; court ordered psychiatric examinations by Drs. Salcedo and Richoux, who concluded Johnson was competent to stand trial.
At a competency hearing the court found Johnson competent despite his insistence that plea offers violated his constitutional rights and his apparent distrust of counsel; defense later requested a second competency hearing which the court denied (no contemporaneous objection to the denial).
On appeal Johnson argued the trial court erred in finding him competent and in refusing to revisit competency; the appellate court affirmed competency and decline to disturb the court’s exercise of discretion; the court remanded solely to correct dates on the Uniform Commitment Order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Competency to stand trial	State: doctors’ evaluations and defendant’s courtroom behavior show competency	Johnson: persistent confusion about plea/offers, misunderstanding of roles, inconsistent defense show inability to understand proceedings or assist counsel	Court: No manifest error; doctors’ report and record (testimony, ability to distinguish charges/pleas, assert rights, testify) support competency finding
Denial of second competency hearing	State: trial court acted within discretion; no new evidence of deterioration; defense failed to object at the time	Johnson: trial court abused discretion by refusing another examination despite ongoing signs of incompetence	Court: No abuse of discretion; defense raised same concerns as before and offered no new indication of deterioration; also defendant forfeited contemporaneous objection

State v. Holmes, 5 So.3d 42 (La. 2008) (trial court’s competency determination entitled to great weight; review for manifest error)
State v. Comeaux, 514 So.2d 84 (La. 1987) (burden on accused to prove incompetence by clear preponderance)
State v. Bennett, 345 So.2d 1129 (La. 1977) (enumerates factors for assessing competency to stand trial)
State v. Carter, 84 So.3d 499 (La. 2012) (appointment of sanity commission is within trial court’s discretion)
State v. Pollard, 106 So.3d 1194 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2012) (discusses twofold competency test: understanding proceedings and assisting counsel)