25 results for 'cat:"Competence" AND cat:"Murder"'.
Per curiam, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts determines that, where the defendant is a juvenile with executive functioning issues and learning disabilities that make it difficult if not impossible for him to understand court procedure without specialized instruction, “the ability to propose, finance, order, and compel remediation programming falls beyond the purview of the court.” Discharged and remanded.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: SJC-13466, Categories: competence, Juvenile Law, murder
J. Pickering finds the juvenile court improperly certified the juvenile for murder and robbery proceedings as an adult. The 14-year-old, with an IQ of 66, was originally found incompetent, followed by competency-restoration before he was eventually declared competent. The juvenile court did not address conflicting expert testimony as to the juvenile's understanding of the proceedings and ability to assist counsel. The court applied juvenile-court-specific competency standards, emphasizing there is no right to a jury trial in juvenile delinquency adjudication. Vacated.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Pickering , Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 84563, Categories: competence, Juvenile Law, murder
J. Alley finds a lower court did not err in sentencing defendant to 55 years in prison for murder. Defendant, who was delusional at the time of the incident but did not seek an insanity defense, argued the sentence was too long and therefore violated “the rehabilitation objective of the Texas Penal Code,” but defendant did not preserve error for review — and even if he did, “a sentence that falls within the statutory range of punishment is not an abuse of discretion.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Alley, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00142-CR, Categories: competence, murder, Sentencing
J. McClendon finds that defendant was properly found guilty of attempted second degree murder and second degree battery stemming from an attack on two workers for the Lafourche Parish Water District. Based on the evidence, the jury could have "rationally concluded" that defendant did not prove he was insane at the time he committed the offenses. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: McClendon, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 2023KA0699, Categories: competence, murder, Battery
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J. Swan finds the superior court properly convicted defendant of first-degree murder, assault as an act of domestic violence, firearm possession and other charges connected to the murder of his wife. Defendant's challenges to his conviction all fail, including those claiming that the prosecution failed to prove his actions were not a result of mental illness; the superior court failed to call a mistrial in violation of his due process rights and improperly allowed the prosecution's expert witness to testify that defendant's expert witness' report was deficient during rebuttal; and jury instructions improperly gave him the burden of presenting "some evidence" of his insanity. Because the evidence presented at trial was also sufficient to show defendant was sane when he shot his wife in anger over her plan to divorce him, defendant's conviction stands even though the prosecution made some "inappropriate statements." Affirmed.
Court: Virgin Islands Supreme Court, Judge: Swan, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 2024 VI 4, Categories: competence, murder, Experts
Per curiam, the court of appeals finds the trial court properly found defendant's son competent to testify as a witness during his trial on charges stemming from the shooting of his wife. The court conducted a thorough colloquy with the child prior to his testimony that established he knew right from wrong and understood he was required to tell the truth, while defendant's attorney was also able to conduct a thorough cross-examination. Furthermore, sufficient evidence supports the conviction. Although it was undisputed the victim fired several shots before she was shot and killed, expert analysis of the wounds indicated she was shot at very close range at an angle that contradicted defendant's version of where she was located and disproved his claim of an imminent threat. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4643, Categories: competence, murder, Self Defense
J. LaGrua finds that the trial court properly found defendant guilty but mentally ill of murder and correctly denied his motion for a new trial. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction, including defendant's admission to an EMT, his pastor, his brother and police that he shot the victim. Defendant has not shown that his trial counsel failed to adequately investigate defendant's insanity defense by failing to procure an expert to testify about defendant's criminal responsibility at the time of the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: LaGrua, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: S23A0893, Categories: competence, murder
J. Thomson finds the court of appeals improperly reversed defendant's murder and tampering with evidence convictions, received after he repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend. While the 69-month delay between defendant's indictment and trial on murder charges was presumptively prejudicial, it did not constitute a violation of his speedy trial rights. The majority of the delay was caused by numerous competency hearings, several of which were conducted after defendant was declared incompetent, at which point the state could not continue with a trial. Furthermore, his segregation from the general population in prison was a result of his own violent outbursts and, therefore, did not unduly prejudice him. Reversed.
Court: New Mexico Supreme Court, Judge: Thomson, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: S-1-SC-37879, Categories: competence, murder, Speedy Trial
J. Hiland finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Defendant was pulled over for running a stop sign, with his two-year-old daughter unsecured in the back seat. Cash cam footage shows that defendant did not have a license or registration and gave the officer false information. Another officer arrived and defendant was allowed to call the child’s mother, who later arrived. Defendant was detained on the ground after attempting to exit the vehicle and the mother choked one of the officers. Defendant retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and ran, with the shooting taking place outside the camera range. All evidence is sufficient to support the convictions. A psychiatric expert who provisionally diagnosed defendant with schizophrenia testified that he had the capacity to stand trial. Defendant’s motion for directed verdict was properly denied. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Hiland, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: CR-23-130, Categories: competence, murder, Assault
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly denied defendant’s habeas corpus petition. Defendant was found guilty of murdering two women who were spreading word of two other murders he committed, and his trial counsel did not object to the families’ testimony regarding the effects of their loved ones’ deaths. Defendant’s state habeas attorneys neither abandoned him nor rendered ineffective assistance by not contesting his competency to waive further habeas proceedings. Defendant fails to show cause under relevant case law for procedurally defaulting his claim regarding counsel’s performance. He has also not shown a substantial likelihood that his full medical report would have changed the outcome of the competency hearing. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 22-70001, Categories: competence, Habeas, murder
J. Doherty finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of murder after allowing him to proceed pro se despite his mental health issues and noncompliance with medication. The court conducted a full evidentiary hearing on the matter of defendant's competence and reasonably relied on its observations of defendant in addition to expert testimony. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Doherty, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 220797, Categories: competence, murder, Self Representation
J. Womack finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for capital murder, sentencing him to life in prison. Substantial evidence shows that defendant stabbed his ex-wife 45 times, leaving her deceased body on the bedroom floor while he showered, changed clothes and contacted his mother. The jury adequately heard and rejected defendant’s affirmative-defense argument regarding his mental state and alleged involuntary intoxication by his use of Wellbutrin. The number of wounds targeting the victim’s face, neck and chest indicates an intent that rises to premeditation or deliberation. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court, Judge: Womack, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: CR-22-821, Categories: competence, Evidence, murder
J. Kelety finds that the trial court improperly found that defendant represented a substantial threat to others due to mental illness and recommitted her as a mentally disordered offender. In 1999, prompted by paranoid ideation, she tried to kill her landlord and then imprisoned him, which led to a 17-year sentence that she completed. The record contains no substantial evidence that she has any history of dangerous behavior since the commitment offense, and recommitment cannot be based on conclusory speculation that a violent past poses a risk of future violence.
Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Kelety, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: D081246, Categories: competence, murder
J. Gregory finds the lower court improperly dismissed the murderer's motion to review his 2013 federal habeas petition, which was denied for being untimely, on the grounds that his multiple mental health disabilities had prevented him from effectively petitioning the court. Following his arrest for the murders of his ex-wife and her boyfriend, he was twice found incompetent to stand trial and was twice admitted to a hospital for treatment to restore his competency. His motion was filed within a reasonable time, given the extensive evidence documenting his severe mental disabilities. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory , Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: 20-6351, Categories: competence, Habeas, murder
J. Kiley finds a lower court improperly granted a defendant's motion for incompetency. The defendant argued that he was deemed incompetent to stand trial on murder charges. However, the State presented sufficient evidence in court that it is entitled to refile charges against the defendant after he failed to present evidence that he experienced a "change in competency." Vacated.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division One, Judge: Kiley, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 1 CA-SA 23-98, Categories: competence, murder
J. Sutton finds the trial court properly found defendant competent to stand trial on arson and murder charges related to several fires, one of which killed seven people, including five children. Although he suffered from a mental illness, he was placed under 24/7 supervision in a mental health facility for 20 days after being arrested and showed no signs of delusion or a lack of understanding about the proceedings against him. Meanwhile, defendant failed to prove prejudice as a result of a single trial for all three fires, given that the jury acquitted him of some of the charges. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Sutton, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-2220, Categories: competence, murder, Arson
J. Wendlandt upholds defendant's conviction of first-degree murder and felony murder for strangling and smothering his girlfriend. The trial court thoroughly addressed defense counsel's concerns about defendant's ability to stand trial and found him competent, and also properly instructed the jury. Affirmed.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Wendlandt, Filed On: May 25, 2023, Case #: SJC-13158, Categories: competence, murder