Bennett v. State

766 S.W.2d 227, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 19, 1989 WL 11458
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 15, 1989
Docket69645
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 766 S.W.2d 227 (Bennett v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bennett v. State, 766 S.W.2d 227, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 19, 1989 WL 11458 (Tex. 1989).

Opinions

OPINION ON REMAND FROM THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT

W.C. DAVIS, Judge.

Appellant was convicted of capital murder. V.T.C.A. Penal Code, § 19.03. The jury answered the special issues in the affirmative and appellant was sentenced to death. Art. 37.071, V.A.C.C.P.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On direct appeal, appellant brought fourteen points of error.1 In points one [228]*228through five in his brief on original appeal to this Court, appellant claimed the trial court erred in allowing Dr. Grigson to examine him and testify as to appellant’s future dangerousness at the penalty stage of the trial in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution, as well as in violation of the Texas Constitution and state statutory law. We agreed with appellant that the trial court erred under state law; however, we found such error to be harmless under Tex.R.App.P. 81(b)(2).2 Accordingly, we affirmed appellant’s conviction. Bennett v. State, 742 S.W.2d 664 (Tex.Cr.App.1987).

Appellant then filed his petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court claiming that the testimony of Dr. Grigson at the penalty phase violated his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself and denied appellant his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel in violation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981). Appellant further argued this Court’s holding that the admission of Dr. Grigson’s testimony was harmless error conflicts with the Supreme Court’s decision in Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). The United States Supreme Court granted appellant’s petition for writ of certiorari3 and without analysis or particular instructions vacated and remanded the cause to this Court4 “for further consideration in light of Satterwhite v. Texas,” 486 U.S. -, 108 S.Ct. 1792, 100 L.Ed.2d 284 (1988). We will now examine appellant’s point of error on remand5 in light of Estelle v. Smith, and Satterwhite v. Texas, both supra.

In Estelle v. Smith, supra, the Supreme Court held the Fifth Amendment6 dictates a defendant must be warned prior to an in-custody psychiatric examination that he has the right to remain silent and his statements can be used against him on the crucial issue of future dangerousness at a sentencing proceeding. Id. at 468-69, 101 S.Ct. at 1875-76. Admission of a psy[229]*229chiatrist’s damaging testimony on the crucial issue of future dangerousness without proper warnings violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination because of a lack of appraisal of rights and a knowing waiver thereof. Id. See also Ex Parte Woods, 745 S.W.2d 21 (Tex.Cr.App.1988).

The court held further that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel is also violated where defense counsel is not notified in advance that a psychiatric examination will encompass the issue of future dangerousness and there is no affirmative waiver of the right to counsel. The court reasoned that once adversary proceedings have been instituted, a psychiatric interview is a critical stage of the aggregate proceedings against a criminal defendant. Id. 451 U.S. at 470-71, 101 S.Ct. at 1876-77.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Satterwhite v. Texas, supra, clarified that a violation of Smith v. Estelle, supra, as well as other federal constitutional error, is subject to a harmless error analysis under Chapman v. California, supra.

In the Chapman case the court held that the test for proving such error to be harmless is that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that such federal constitutional error did not contribute to the verdict.7

In the instant case, appellant claims that the examination by Dr. Grigson violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights and the mandate of the Supreme Court in Smith v. Estelle, supra. A brief recitation of the pertinent facts are necessary for disposition of this point.8 The record shows that appellant’s attorney filed a pre-trial motion in which he requested that the trial court grant a psychiatric examination for appellant to determine his competency to stand trial. On July 22, 1985, Dr. J.A. Hunter, M.D., of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, completed his examination and reported that appellant was sane and competent to stand trial.

Shortly before the trial began, the State filed a motion requesting the trial court to order appellant to be re-examined due to the fact that the State had been notified by Dr. Hunter that he would not be available to testify because of a prior commitment in Houston. A hearing was held on the State’s motion.

At the hearing, defense counsel strenuously objected, arguing that a doctor had already performed the examination, found appellant competent and filed a report to that effect. Defense counsel argued further that there was no adequate cause to seek a second opinion or to have another doctor come in and examine appellant simply in order to enable the State to have a witness at the trial. The State’s motion was granted, and pursuant to this motion, the trial court entered an order, which stated in pertinent part:

It is therefore ORDERED that the Defendant, BABY RAY BENNETT, be examined by DR. JAMES P. GRIGSON, 6116 North Central Expressway, Dallas, Texas, phone # 214-363-3015, a qualified expert in the field of Psychiatry, to determine if the said Defendant is mentally competent to stand trial, his sanity, his mental disease or defects, if any, his dangerousness, his propensity and probability to commit criminal acts of violence that constitute a continuing threat to society.... (Emphasis added)

In our original opinion on direct appeal in this cause, we stated that no issues were raised which would have provided a basis for the trial court’s order under Arts. 46.02 or 46.03, V.A.C.C.P. since appellant was examined by a psychiatrist and found to be sane and competent to stand trial. Moreover, the State failed to establish that a new examination was necessary, alleging only that the previous psychiatrist would [230]*230be unavailable for trial on the date set. We stated:

The trial court does not, however, have the authority to appoint a psychiatrist for the purpose of examining a defendant for evidence relating solely to his future dangerousness. McKay v. State, 707 S.W.2d 23 (Tex.Cr.App.1985).... Without a statutory basis for the appointment, the trial judge effectively ordered appellant to submit to a psychiatric examination solely for the purpose of determining appellant’s future dangerousness. As such, the trial court erred.

Bennett v. State, supra, at 671. However, even though we found that the trial court erred in ordering the examination, we also held the error to be harmless given the circumstances of the case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
766 S.W.2d 227, 1989 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 19, 1989 WL 11458, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-state-texcrimapp-1989.