Lead Opinion
OPINION
Appellant, Glen Burton Ake, was tried by jury and convicted of two counts of First Degree Murder (21 O.S.1981, § 701.7) and two counts of Shooting with Intent to Kill (21 O.S.1981, § 652), in Canadian County District Court, Case Nos. CRF-79-302, CRF-79-303, CRF-79-304 and CRF-79-305, before the Honorable Joe Cannon, District Judge. The jury set punishment during the second stage at life imprisonment for each count of First Degree Murder and
Appellant was first convicted of these crimes in 1980. He filed a direct appeal and his convictions were affirmed. Ake v. State,
The facts leading to these events began on October 15, 1979, while appellant and his co-defendant, Steven Hatch, were employed at a drilling company. Early that morning, Claude Lucas drove appellant and Hatch to work. On the way, the three stopped so appellant could do some target practice. After arriving at work, appellant and Hatch quit their jobs and borrowed Lucas’ car, telling him they would return it later that afternoon. During the evening, appellant and Hatch drove to the rural home of the Richard Douglass family. Hearing the dogs bark, Leslie, the twelve-year old daughter, went to the front yard and asked aрpellant if he needed help. He asked for an address and she went inside to look it up in the telephone book. Appellant and Hatch entered the house under the pretext of using the phone, and after gaining entrance, both men pulled guns and told the family they would “blow their heads off” if they tried anything.
Richard and Marilyn Douglass, who were in various parts of the house, were forced into the living room, as was Brooks, their son. Marilyn and Brooks were led to their rooms to retrieve any money they had. They were returned to the living room, where all but Leslie were bound, gagged and told to lay face down on the floor. Leslie was then forced to show appellant and Hatch the “sеcret hiding places” of the family. Appellant tore the phones from their connections. He then demanded Leslie undress, and he and Hatch attempted to rape her. Appellant tried unsuccessfully a second time to rape her. After these attempts, she was told to dress and return to the living room, where she was bound, gagged and forced to lay face down on the floor. Hatch then covered the heads of all four of the Douglass family. Appellant sent Hatch to the car and told the family he didn’t want to shoot them, but he didn’t know if they could be trusted. After saying, “I’m sorry but dead men don’t talk,” he shot Brooks once, Marilyn once, Richard twice and Leslie twice and fled from the hоuse.
The two children were able to untie themselves and drive to the house of a nearby doctor. The sheriff’s office was summoned and upon arrival at the Douglass home, Marilyn and Richard Douglass were dead. A palm print of appellant was found in the house and the bullets recovered from the Douglass home were identical to those found at the site where appellant practiced shooting earlier in the day. In November, appellant and Hatch were arrested in Craig, Colorado. Hatch was wearing the wedding ring of Richard Douglass. Appellant was using a Visa credit card belonging to Marilyn Douglass. Mrs. Douglass’ wedding ring was also recovered.
Before the secоnd trial, defense counsel filed a motion asking that appellant be sent for testing regarding his competency to stand trial. Initially, after arriving at Eastern State Hospital, appellant was found to be incompetent. However, some months later, the attending doctors informed the court that appellant was competent to stand trial as long as he remained on his medication, which consisted of 1600. milligrams of Thorazine. A hearing was held to determine appellant’s competency. The jury unanimously found appellant to be competent to stand trial.
At trial, appellant’s sole defense was that of insanity at the time of the offense. Pri- or to trial, appеllant requested that the trial court provide him access to á psychiatrist in order to prepare his defense. The court granted his request, and defense counsel contacted Dr. Hans Von Brau-chitsch, who testified on behalf of appellant. Dr. Von Brauchitsch testified that
Dr. Von Brauchitsch also explained that appellant was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He stated that while the disease itself could not be cured, the symptoms of the disease could be treated with medication. However, when taken off the medications prescribed to treat the illness, appellant lapses back into a delusional state, or what appellant terms “the demon world.” The doctor explained that appellant’s condition had deteriorated over the past several years, and that appellant had been schizophrenic since between 1973 and 1975. When asked whether appellant could distinguish right from wrong on the day that the crimes were committed, Dr. Von Brauchitsch stated that appellant did not know right from wrong.
As his first assignment of error, appellant alleges a violation of his right to a speedy trial due to the six year delay between his first trial and his second trial. Appellant was first tried and convicted in 1980, and the convictions were subsequently overturned by the United States Supreme Court in Ake v. Oklahoma,
To determine whether a violation of the constitutional right to a speedy trial has occurred, this Court has cоnsistently adhered to the test set forth in Barker v. Wingo,
The length of delay between the crime and appellant’s second trial was approximately six years. Clearly, this delay necessitates an inquiry into the remaining factors. See Johnson,
The next factor to be considered by this Court is appellant’s assertion of his right to a speedy trial. A motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial was filed by defense counsel on December 12, 1985, which was two (2) months before trial.
The last factor is the degree of prejudice suffered by appellant. Appellant urges that the long delay between the two trials prejudiced his defense because of his deteriorating mental condition. However, we find no prejudice especially in light of the fact that appellant was found competent and was able to function mentally due to medication prescribed for his illness. Appellant was able to present the defense of insanity at trial, and said defense was not hampered by the delay. Accordingly, this assignment is without merit.
Appellant also asserts that he was incompetent to stand trial. As the basis for this argument, appellant urges that “his chronic progressive mental disease” precluded him from being competent at the time of
Title 22 O.S.1981, § 1175.4(B) presumes the defendant is competent and requires him to prove his incompetence by clear and convincing evidence. Miller v. State,
In the present case, appellant called four witnesses at the post-examination competency hearing, three of these witnesses being psychiatrists. All three doctors testified he was competent, although two expressed their opinion that appellant was suffering from chronic paranoid schizophrenia. The doctors testified that appellant realized the nature and consequences of his crime and understood the importance of defensе counsel and realized he needed to cooperate with his attorneys. The record also reveals that appellant understood the duties of the judge, jury and attorneys. Accordingly, appellant failed to meet his burden of proof. See Fox v. State,
Next, appellant argues that the trial court committed constitutional error by refusing to appoint a psychiatrist to assist and aid him in his post-examination competency hearing. As support for his assertion, appellant relies on Ake v. Oklahoma,
We therefore hold that when a defendant demonstrates to the trial judge that his sanity at the time of the offense is to be a significant factor at trial, the State must, at a minimum, assure the defendant access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense. This is not to say, of course, that the indigent defendant has a constitutional right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own.
Before the post-examination competency hearing, appellant filed a written request for the appointment of a psychiatrist to aid him in preparing for the hearing. The State opposed such motion, stating that Ake was limited to the provision of a psychiatrist at trial to aid in an insаnity defense. In the alternative, the State asserted that the mandates of Ake had been met because appellant had been given access to a competent psychiatrist. The district court denied appellant’s request, although the basis of the ruling is not contained in the record.
This Court has yet to to determine whether the rationale of Ake extends to the provision of a psychiatrist for the purposes of a competency hearing.
“[Ajccess to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination” does not constitutionally mandate that appellant be given the “right to choose a psychiatrist of his personal liking or to receive funds to hire his own.” Ake,
Appellant argues that he “was forced to procеed ... without the benefit of an independent psychiatric examination to aid in meeting the burden of proof as to defendant’s incompetency” as he had “no expert testimony to support his contentions.” Brief of Appellant, at 23. This argument is flawed for two reasons. First, appellant was examined by three competent psychiatrists. All three conducted examinations regarding his competency and determined he was competent to stand trial. Although two of the doctors were employed by a state mental hospital, one doctor was an “independent” psychiatrist as he was employed by a private, non-profit community mental health center.
As his next assignment of error, appellant claims that the trial court erred by denying his request for a continuance. Appellant states that a continuance was necessary to allow the defense psychiatrist to examine appellant while he was not under the influence of medication. In his motion filed with the district court, appellant explained that it would take two weeks to remove appellant from all medication and would take approximately three weeks to restore his medication to full dosage.
The grant or denial of a continuance is within the discretion of the trial court and absent an abuse of discretion, this Court will not disturb the trial court’s ruling. Walker v. State,
Next, appellant claims he should not have been shackled during his trial. Before trial, the judge questioned defense counsel as to whether appellant should remain shackled during trial to protect others in the courtroom. Defense counsel agreed that appellant should remain shackled, but asked that precautions be taken to ensure that the shackles were not viewed by the jurors. Defense counsel concedes that no juror reported seeing the leg shackles.
In Davis v. State,
Appellant also claims that the fact he was shackled during trial indicates he was incompetent. However, as we determined above, sufficient evidence existed to support the jury’s determination of competency. This assignment is without merit.
As his next proposition, appellant urges that error occurred when the trial court refused to allow inquiry into the beliefs of prosрective jurors regarding the possibility of determining an accused’s mental condition many years after the crime. Appellant argues that such inquiry was necessary to determine “prejudice in jurors who did not believe such retrospective diagnoses could be accomplished.” Brief of Appellant, at 35.
The manner and extent of examination of prospective jurors rests largely in the sound discretion of the trial court and, absent a clear abuse of discretion, the trial court’s ruling will not be disturbed. Brogie v. State,
In the present case, an exhaustive voir dire was conducted. It occurred over a period of three days and included more than seven hundred (700) pages of transcript. The trial court was lenient in the scope and extent of examination, and we have no doubt the attorneys were able to make intelligent choices as to their challenges. When apрellant attempted to question prospective jurors regarding their opinions as to the possibility of diagnosing an accused’s mental condition many years after the crime, the following exchange occurred:
MR. BOX: We would like to be able to ask them if they would consider that testimony even though the examination was made some seven years after the commission [of the offense.]
THE COURT: I’ll let you ask them will they consider all of his testimony and give it full weight and credit that they deem it’s entitled to, but I’m not going to let you specifically ask them — that would be like asking him if this guy testifies that the sky is purple all day everydaywill you believe it or not. You can’t do that. I’m not going to let you specifically say if a witnеss will testify to such will you consider it, but you can ask will they believe—
MR. BOX: May I ask him if he believes — may I ask him if he believes it’s possible for a psychiatrist to make diagnosis seven years after the commission of a crime?
THE COURT: No, that’s what I’m saying I’m not going to let you do. I’ll let you ask will you listen to the psychiatrist and all of his testimony and give it what weight and credit, will you listen and judge it and not judge it in advance, but I’m not going to let you specifically pinpoint things, will you believe this, will you believe that, will you consider this. Consider it all. You can argue that in your closing argument but not now. Objection sustained.
Clearly, defense counsel was asking questions regarding the credibility of an expert witness. The trial judge was correct in his analysis that credibility is an issue to be argued in closing statements as it is a question of fact for the jury and is not relevant during voir dire proceedings. See Curtis v. State,
Next, appellant submits that reversible error occurred when the trial court refused to allow Dr. Yon Brauchitsch to state the diagnoses of other physicians which were relied upon by him in reaching his opinion regarding appellant’s sanity at the time of the crime. The State argues “that the diagnoses of the other professionals constituted hearsay and, as such, [were] properly excluded from evidence.”
The State’s argument is incоrrect because 12 O.S.1981, §§ 2703 and 2705 allow for the admission of facts and data which are not otherwise admissible so long as certain requirements and guidelines are followed:
§ 2703. Bases of Opinion Testimony by Experts
The facts or data in the particular case upon which an expert bases an opinion or inference may be those perceived by or made know to him at or before the hearing. If of a type reasonably relied upon by experts in the particular field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject, the facts or data need not be admissible in evidence.
§ 2705. Disclosure of Facts or Data Underlying Expert Opinion
The expert may testify in terms of opinion or inference and give his reasons therefor without prior disclosure of the underlying facts or data, unless the court requires otherwise. The expert may be required to disclose the underlying facts or data on cross-examination. (Emphasis added)
Sections 2703 and 2705, which are identical to Sections 703 and 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, broadened the scope of permissible expert opinions. It is no longer required that all data relied on by the expert be admissible into evidence, “so long as it is ‘of a type reasonably relied on by experts in the particular field in forming opinions or inferences upon the subject.’ ” United States v. Lawson,
In the case at bar, the defense expert attempted to relate to the jury the diagnoses of other professionals which he relied on in forming his opinion.
Although the admission of facts or data relied upon by the expert is permissible under Section 2703 and 2705, the admission of such evidence remains within the sound discretiоn of the trial court. See Whinery, supra, at 245, 255; Scott v. State,
Likewise, in the instant case, defendant sought to admit, through the testimony of Dr. Von Brauchitsch, the diagnoses of other doctors. He claimed that the diagnoses were admissible as “underlying facts and data” relied upon by Dr. Von Brauchitsch. The trial judge refused to allow such testimony, stating that if the defendant wanted to place that testimony before the jury, it would be necessary to call the doctors as witnesses in order to allow cross-examination. Also important is the fact that, during redirect examination, defense counsel was able to elicit the fact that appellant had been repeatedly diagnosed as mentally ill.
Appellаnt urges that the diagnoses of the other doctors would have boosted the credibility of Dr. Von Brauchitsch, although it could not be used for substantive evidence. See State v. Edwards,
As his next assertion, appellant claims that his confession should have been suppressed as it was in violation of his sixth amendment right to counsel. As support for his claims, appellant primarily relies on Maine v. Moulton,
With this factual background, we turn to the authority cited by appellant. In Maine v. Moulton,
After close examination, we do not believe the holding in Moulton is determinative of the present case. The reasoning in Moulton is inapplicable insofar as the instant case does not involve a police agent whose identity was concealed from appellant. Instead, appellant knew that Officers Stedman and Shields were law enforcement officials. Furthermore, unlike Moulton wherein the defendant was not given the opportunity to ask for counsel before the “interrogation” began, appellant had the opportunity to speak with counsel, but instead, summoned the officers and told them he had some things “he wanted to get off his chest.” Thus, while some of the broad language in Moulton supports appellant’s theory, the rationale and ruling of the case is not dispositive.
Appellant also relies on Michigan v. Jackson,
We next consider whether appellant waived his right to counsel during the conversation with Officers Stedman and Shields. As a general rule, a defendant can waive his right to counsel after counsel has been appointed and consent to questioning. Reid v. State,
Similar to the case at bar is Curtiss v. State,
Finally, in his last assignment of error, appellant claims the State’s burden of proof was improperly shifted by the instructions given regarding sanity. Specifically, he argues the State was relievеd of proving the requisite intent because the jury was instructed that the law presumed him to be sane. Although this Court recently resolved this issue in Brewer v. State,
The rule that “every man is to be presumed to be sane” has endured for over a century. Leland v. Oregon,
The purpose of jury instructions is to place before the jury a correct and full statement of the law which is applicable to the case. See Rounds v. State,
For the reasons mentioned above, the judgment and sentence is AFFIRMED.
Notes
. It is this writer's opinion that the ruling in Ake must necessarily be extended to include any expert which is "necessary for an adequate defense.” See 18 U.S.C.A. § 3006A(e). This view is consistent with the view held in at least forty other states, as those states, either by legislative enactment or judicial decision, have acknowledged that any expert "necessary for an adequate defense” will be provided once the defendant makes the requisite showing. See Ake v. Oklahoma,
. This Court does not interpret Ake to mаndate an "independent" psychiatrist in the sense that appellant is allowed to choose the psychiatrist. Instead, Ake requires that if an examination is necessary, it shall be conducted by a competent and impartial psychiatrist. In his brief, appellant implies that because all three doctors were compensated with state funds, their opinions were biased. Brief of Appellant, at 23. However, after scrutinizing the transcripts and record, there is no indication of bias. As stated in Djadi v. State,
. Although Dr. Von Brauchitsch never stated that the reports and tests made by other doctors was “of the type reasonably relied upon,” as is required by Section 2703, this Court may take judicial notice that psychiatrists customarily use such information to make a diagnosis. See Lawson, 653 F,2d at 302 (n. 7).
Concurrence Opinion
concurring.
While I concur in this decision, I do not subscribe to the author’s comments in footnote I. Each case must be considered on its own merits as to the extent of technical assistance that should be allowed.
