Lead Opinion
In the present case, we are asked to decide whether the Court of Special Appeals erred when it affirmed the trial court’s conviction of Hubert Allen Wood (“Petitioner” or “Wood”). Petitioner presents two issues on appeal. First, Petitioner asks whether the trial court complied with Md.Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol.), § 3-104(a) of the Criminal Procedure Article (hereinafter § 3-104(a)) when it allowed Petitioner to withdraw his request for a competency evaluation and after-wards did not make a competency determination on the record. We conclude that Petitioner’s withdrawal of his request for a competency evaluation, in conjunction with the minimal evidence on the record to support a finding of incompetency, supported the Circuit Court for Cecil County’s acknowledgment that the issue of competency was moot and, therefore, the presumption of Petitioner’s
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On September 22, 2010, Petitioner was indicted in the stabbing death of Daniel Curran (“Curran” or “victim”). At a pretrial hearing on January 21, 2011, Petitioner’s counsel indicated that he was considering whether to file a request for a psychological evaluation following a conversation with Petitioner’s mother and requested to reschedule the pretrial hearing so he could explore the option “more in depth.” The hearing was rescheduled for the following week and, at that time, Petitioner’s counsel submitted a request for an evaluation of competence, which the court subsequently granted. The Court ordered the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (“DHMH”) to conduct an in-custody competency evaluation and for DHMH to submit a copy of the report to counsel and the court.
At a later motions hearing on May 10, 2011, the parties and the trial judge discussed the request for a competency evaluation. Defense counsel explained that he “had some questions about [Petitioner’s] competency based on a history of prior admissions to psychiatric facilities and also after talking with his mother and her familiarity with her son.” He further explained, however, that the doctor at DHMH went to see Petitioner to complete the evaluation, and Petitioner refused to speak with him because the evaluation would “cast[ ] doubts about [his] sanity.” Defense counsel then emphasized that he “still ha[s] those concerns [about Petitioner’s competency], and ... even his current course of action in not talking to the doctor exacerbates those concerns, doesn’t allay them.” When the State commented that Petitioner’s failure to submit to a competency evaluation might be grounds for appeal once he is convicted, the trial judge responded that “the only thing I can say is we ordered the examination, made it available to him.” The prosecutor then made clear that “if there is something presented during this motions hearing [or if there is any indication that’s observable] that the defendant is not of sound mind, I’m going to be making a request for an emergency evaluation.”
On May 26, 2011 at another pretrial hearing, the following colloquy ensued:
[Petitioner’s counsel]: Your Honor, we are here for an issue of competency to stand trial. And after further discussions with Mr. Wood, both substantively and about this particular issue, I have come to the conclusion that I should withdraw my request. And that is with Mr. Wood’s concurrence. Is that correct, Mr. Wood?
[Wood]: Yes, sir.
[Trial Judge]: Okay. And you understand the consequences of withdrawing that motion?
[Wood]: Yes.
[Petitioner’s counsel]: And the consequences are there will be no such evaluation?
[Wood]: Yes.
[Petitioner’s counsel]: All right.
[Trial Judge]: Because it’s my understanding [DHMH] attempted to perform an evaluation and they wrote back that at that time you refused to participate, so that’s why we were going to send you for further evaluation at Clifton T. Perkins. But you are withdrawing the motion?
[Wood]: Yes, Your Honor.
[Trial Judge]: And that’s all moot.
Petitioner’s trial lasted from June 13 to June 16, 2011. The following evidence, relevant to this appeal, was presented at the trial. The victim’s body was discovered by Mr. Michael Martin, a friend who occasionally “check[ed] in on” the victim, on February 17, 2010. Mr. Martin testified that the home was “trashed,” and the dresser drawer where Curran stored his medication was overturned. Martin drove to the local grocery store and notified police. The owner of the local grocery store, Mrs. Wright, who had frequent contact with the victim, testified that when Curran “was sober, he was awesome. If he wasn’t sober, we didn’t let him into the store.” Mrs. Wright further testified that on February 12, 2010, Petitioner came to the grocery store with a note signed by Curran authorizing the purchase of beer, which was a regular practice between Wright and Curran.
Another witness for the State, Matthew Morris, testified that at one time prior to Curran’s death, Petitioner talked to Morris about “robbing the guy up the street” to “steal his pills,” and that the “guy up the street” could only mean Curran. A friend of Petitioner’s, Michael McDonald, testified that during a visit to the area in March 2010, he visited Petitioner, and that Petitioner told him that he and the victim had been drinking when they got into an argument over pills, during which Petitioner “snapped” and stabbed Curran “in the temple and in the neck[.]” Petitioner’s mother also testified for the State. She admitted that on February 12, 2010, a “drunk” and “lethargic” Petitioner came home and told her he “hurt” Curran. When the prosecutor refreshed her recollection, Petitioner’s mother acknowledged that during her interview with police on September 9, 2010, she twice told the detectives that Petitioner told her that he thought he killed Curran. She insisted at trial, however, that Petitioner only said he “hurt” Curran, and that he did so because Curran “had said something inappropriate about [her].”
It was determined that at the time of his death, the victim was in poor physical health; he was dying of cancer and had been “beaten very badly” by someone a few days prior to his murder. While he was being treated for this earlier beating, the victim told medical personnel that he had a “history of aggressive behavior” and had threatened others “physically or verbally” when “drunk or high.” He also stated that he would “like to kill the person who beat [him] up[.]” A toxicology report showed that the victim tested positive for ethanol and other substances at the time of his death.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty as to the first-degree murder charge and Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment with all but 80 years suspended. Petitioner noted a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, which affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court in a reported opinion. Wood v. State,
(1) Did the Court of Special Appeals err when it held that the trial court complied with Md.Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol.), § 3-104(a) of the Criminal Procedure Article when the trial judge allowed Petitioner to withdraw his request for a competency evaluation, and afterwards did not make a competency determination on the record?
(2) Did the Court of Special Appeals err when it determined that the Circuit Court properly denied Wood’s request for an instruction on legally adequate provocation because that defense was not generated by the evidence?
I.
The present case does not involve a substantive challenge to Petitioner’s competency to stand trial. Rather, Petitioner claims that the trial court committed a procedural error by failing to make a competency determination following defense counsel’s request for, and subsequent withdrawal of, a competency evaluation. With that in mind, we turn to the requirements of Maryland law.
Preliminarily, we note that a person accused of committing a crime is presumed competent to stand trial. Peaks v. State,
If, before or during a trial, the defendant in a criminal case or a violation of probation proceeding appears to the court to be incompetent to stand trial or the defendant alleges incompetence to stand trial, the court shall determine, on evidence presented on the record, whether the defendant is incompetent to stand trial.
Md.Code (2001, 2008 Repl. Vol.), § 3 — 101(f) of the Criminal Procedure Article defines “incompetent to stand trial” as someone who is unable “(1) to understand the nature or object of the proceeding; or (2) to assist in one’s defense.” See also Peaks,
The interpretation and application of § 3-104(a) has been visited by this Court many times since the statute’s enactment.
The language of [§ 3-104](a) mandates actions to be undertaken by a trial court, if an accused’s competency is properly called into question. These actions can be broken down into three distinct and simple steps: (1) First, a determination of competency may be made at any time before or during a trial; (2) Second, such a determination must be made if the defendant in a criminal case appears to be incompetent to stand trial or the defendant alleges incompetence to stand trial; and (3) Finally, the court must make its determination on the evidence presented on the record.
Roberts,
The second step requires the issue of competency to be properly before the court. “As the statute makes plain, a trial court’s duty to determine the competency of the accused is triggered in one of three ways: (1) upon motion of the accused; (2) upon motion of the defense counsel; or (3) upon a sua sponte determination by the court that the defendant may not be competent to stand trial.” Thanos v. State,
The crux of this appeal is whether the third step of § 3-104(a) was satisfied, or if it even needed to be satisfied in this situation. This Court has undertaken the task of interpreting this requirement, that “the court must make its determination on the evidence presented on the record,” at length. Such a determination by a trial judge should not “be made lightly but upon testimony and evidence on the record.” Treece v. State,
The issue presented on appeal involves a two-step inquiry: (1) whether Petitioner was legally permitted to withdraw the request for a competency evaluation; and (2) if so, whether Petitioner’s withdrawal
The second inquiry, whether Petitioner’s withdrawal renders the issue of competency moot, is not so quickly answered. We shall hold that the issue of competency is moot so long as the trial judge did not have a bona fide doubt that Petitioner was competent based on evidence presented on the record. More specifically, we hold that, under the circumstances of this case, the Circuit Court’s determination that the issue of competency was moot was in compliance with § 3-104(a), and that there was no bona fide doubt created by evidence on the record that Petitioner was competent.
In the present case, the record demonstrates that Petitioner was afforded an opportunity to be heard, and there was sufficient evidence on the record for the trial court to discern Petitioner’s competence. In Roberts, we held that under this third requirement, while a defendant need not be afforded a formal hearing, “an accused must be afforded an opportunity to present evidence upon which a valid determination can be made.”
Additionally, the issue of Petitioner’s competency was discussed at multiple pretrial hearings, which developed an adequate record on the issue. Although the legal analysis in the Roberts case informs
Moreover, it is a reasonable inference that the trial judge gave credence to the fact that Petitioner’s counsel ultimately withdrew his request for a competency evaluation. The United States Supreme Court has stated that defense counsel is often the person with the “best-informed view” of his client’s ability to participate in his own defense. Medina v. California,
Second, there is no evidence that the trial judge had a bona fide doubt as to the question of Petitioner’s competency. We hold that because there was compliance with § 3-104(a), the issue of competency was moot unless the trial judge or another party later had a basis to question Petitioner’s competence to stand trial. The Supreme Court of the United States has held, and Maryland has adopted the rule, that where the evidence raises a “bona fide doubt” as to a defendant’s competence to stand trial, the trial judge must sua sponte raise the issue and make a competency determination based on evidence presented on the record. Gregg,
In the present case, the trial judge, presumably, was aware of his duty to raise the issue of Petitioner’s competence sua sponte if evidence created a bona fide doubt. At oral argument, Petitioner’s counsel asserted that the following evidence speaking to Petitioner’s competence was present on the record: that Petitioner’s counsel alleged his incompetence, Petitioner’s history of psychiatric admissions, and his refusal to cooperate in the competency evaluation because “people should not doubt his sanity.” We do not believe that this information, without more, is sufficient to create a bona fide doubt in a trial judge’s mind that Petitioner was competent to stand trial. We therefore affirm the judgment of the intermediate appellate court that the Circuit Court was not required to make a determination of competency in the present case,
II.
We next visit the issue of whether the Court of Special Appeals correctly determined that the Circuit Court properly denied Petitioner’s request for a jury instruction on the defense of provocation. Because the evidence presented was not sufficient to establish adequate provocation to mitigate murder to manslaughter, we affirm the intermediate appellate court’s judgment that the jury instruction request was properly denied.
Maryland Rule 4-325 codifies the requirements for instructions to the jury. Section (c) explains how they are given: “The court may, and at the request of any party shall, instruct the jury as to the applicable law and the extent to which the instructions are binding. The court may give its instructions orally or, with the consent of the parties, in writing instead of orally. The court need not grant a requested instruction if the matter is fairly covered by instructions actually given.” Md. Rule 4-325(c). This Court has interpreted Rule 4-325 as containing three components that must be met in order to include a proposed jury instruction in the ultimate charge to the jury: “(1) the instruction is a correct statement of law; (2) the instruction is applicable to the facts of the case; and (3) the content of the instruction was not fairly covered elsewhere in instructions actually given.” Dickey v. State,
When a defendant requests a particular jury instruction, this Court has held that a party need only produce “some evidence” to support such an instruction. Bazzle v. State,
The next relevant inquiry is the proper standard for determining when the defense of provocation applies. This Court has delineated a four-part test: “(1) There must have been adequate provocation; (2) The killing must have been in the heat of passion; (3) It must have been a sudden heat of passion — that is, the killing must have followed the provocation before there had been a reasonable opportunity for the passion to cool; (4) There must have been a causal connection between the provocation, the passion, and the fatal act.” State v. Rich,
The rule of provocation will apply when persons enter into angry and unlawful combat with a mutual intent to fight and, as a result of the effect of the combat, the passion of one of the participants is suddenly elevated to the point where he resorts to the use of deadly force to kill the other solely because of an impulsive response to the passion and without time to consider the consequences of his actions.... Insulting words or gestures, no matter how opprobrious, do not amount to an affray, and standing alone, do not constitute adequate provocation.
Sims v. State,
Although words alone can not amount to provocation, there is an exception to this general principle. Adequate provocation can be elicited from words “if they are accompanied by conduct indicating a present intention and ability on the part of the victim to cause the [defendant] bodily harm.” Carter v. State,
In his brief to this Court, Petitioner asserts that the following evidence supported such a jury instruction. Following a prior assault that did not involve Petitioner, the victim told medical personnel that he had a “history of aggressive behavior” and had threatened others “physically or verbally” when “high or drunk.” A local grocer testified that the victim was not allowed in the store if he was intoxicated. A toxicology report showed that the victim tested positive for ethanol and other drugs. A friend testified that Petitioner told him that Petitioner and the victim had been drinking when they got into an argument over pills, during which Petitioner “snapped” and stabbed the victim. Petitioner allegedly told his mother that during his encounter with the victim, the victim made a derogatory comment about Petitioner’s mother.
None of this amounts to “some evidence” supporting a defense of provocation. Very little is known about the events that transpired immediately preceding the death of the victim. Without evidence presented to develop what occurred between the victim and Petitioner, it is impossible for a jury to find that Petitioner was adequately provoked to kill the victim. There were only two witnesses to the altercation and the events leading up to it; one witness is deceased as a result of the attack, and the other witness is the Petitioner himself, who did not testify. What is known is that the victim was in poor physical health after having been “very badly beaten,” and was presumably incapable of participating in a physical affray with Petitioner. Apparently, there was an argument between the two over pills and a derogatory comment was made by the victim about Petitioner’s mother, but there is no evidence that either occurrence involved any physical act until the stabbing itself. Indeed, “[ijnsulting words or gestures, no matter how opprobrious, do not amount to an affray, and standing alone, do not constitute adequate provocation.” Sims,
JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED. COSTS TO BE PAID BY PETITIONER.
HARRELL, J., dissents.
Notes
. We modify the questions presented for brevity and clarify. The original Petition for Writ of Certiorari presented the following questions:
(1) Where Petitioner’s counsel filed a written suggestion of incompetency to stand trial and requested a competency evaluation but subsequently withdrew the request for competency evaluation, with Petitioner’s "concurrence,” was the trial court required to determine, on evidence presented on the record, whether Petitioner was competent to stand trial pursuant to Md.Code (2008 Repl. Vol.), § 3-104(a) of the Criminal Procedure Article and/or as a matter of due process?
(2) If the answer to the first question is affirmative, was the trial court required to explicitly state on the record its determination regarding Petitioner’s competency to stand trial or does an implicit determination suffice for purposes of compliance with Md.Code, Crim. Proc. Art. § 3-104(a) (2008 Repl. Vol.) and/or the requirements of due process?
(3) Assuming arguendo that an implicit determination suffices, did the Court of Special Appeals err in holding that the trial court "implicitly determined” that Petitioner was competent to stand trial?
(4) Where there was some evidence that the victim had a history of being physically and verbally aggressive when "drunk or high,” that the victim was "drunk or high” when he was allegedly killed by Petitioner, that the victim and Petitioner got into an argument when he was killed, and that Petitioner "snapped” and then allegedly killed the victim, did the Court of Special Appeals err in holding that an instruction on legally adequate provocation was not generated?
. This statute was formerly Md.Code (1982, 1987 Cum. Supp.), § 12-103 of the Health-General Article, and some of these cases interpret that prior codification. No substantive changes were made when the statute was recodified as § 3-104(a).
. Section 3-101 of the Maryland Criminal Procedure Article defines "Health Department” as "the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.”
. The intermediate appellate court explained the difference between criminal responsibility and competency, and the important role of the judge in the latter determination: ”[I]t is important to keep in the front of the mind that competence to stand trial (or to waive counsel) is a very different thing than criminal responsibility. It is far more a matter of raw intelligence than it is of balanced psychiatric judgment or legal sanity or of mental health generally. Because of the very nature of the subject, it is one in which a defendant's conversation with a judge may be far more revealing than a defendant’s conversation with a psychiatrist or psychologist. The judge both speaks the language and understands the language of courtroom behavior and courtroom problems, which may sometimes be largely a foreign tongue to the most educated of psychiatrists. The two disciplines are very different, and the professor who is, in effect, marking the defendant’s paper needs to be a master of the appropriate discipline.” Muhammad v. State,
. While we affirm the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals, we do not submit to its reasoning. That court held that the trial judge implicitly determined that Petitioner was competent by accepting his withdrawal of the issue of competency, but we emphasize that the trial judge was not required to make that determination absent a bona fide doubt as to Petitioner's competency to stand trial. Notwithstanding the fact that there is no constitutional requirement that a defendant’s competency be explicitly determined on the record, we submit that it may be practicable for the trial judge to have a brief colloquy with the defendant to eliminate any ambiguities in the competency determination. We request the Rules Committee to consider this matter and determine whether providing a brief list of questions for a trial judge to pose to a defendant whose competency has been questioned would prove useful and would close the door on this issue.
. This Court has recognized certain situations in which this defense may be raised: "mutual affray, assault and battery, discovering one's spouse in the act of sexual intercourse with another, resisting an illegal arrest, witnessing, or being aware of, an act causing injury to a relative or third party, and anything the natural tendency of which is to produce passion in ordinary men and women.” Christian v. State,
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
I dissent, with respect and some reluctance. In the ordinary case, when a litigant withdraws a motion generally, before it is acted upon finally, the objective of the motion is mooted and any appellate review and disposition is easypeasey. In our body of capital punishment jurisprudence, it is said sometimes that “death is ... different” (see, e.g., Redman v. State,
In the present case, the trial judge was persuaded initially by the defense that the presumption of Wood’s competency had been overcome necessarily when the judge ordered an in-custody competency evaluation of Wood by DHMH. Maj. op. at 281-82,
I am troubled particularly with the Majority opinion’s justification for excusing the judge from inquiring further (even in the face of the withdrawal of the motion) because there was no evidence before him from which he could have harbored a bona fide doubt as to Wood’s competency. Maj. op. at 290-92,
I would reverse the judgment of the Court of Special Appeals and order remand to the Circuit Court for further proceedings. I do agree, however, with the Majority opinion’s analysis and holding on the jury instruction question. Maj. op. at 292-96,
. Even an "armchair psychiatrist,” and in the absence of a readily available copy of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), should appreciate that an individual’s protestations of competency and decimation to be examined further on that score are not necessarily reliable indicators that he or she does not have a “problem" in fact.
. One can only wonder how much aid in his defense Wood was, given the prompt convictions.