Davis v. State

1999 OK CR 16, 980 P.2d 1111, 1999 WL 243595
Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma·Decided April 15, 1999·No. F-97-72·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinions

OPINION

STRUBHAR, Presiding Judge:

¶ 1 Appellant, Christopher Howard Davis, was tried in the District Court of Kay County, Case No. CF-95-450, for the crime of First Degree Murder. The State filed a Bill of Particulars alleging two aggravating circumstances: 1) that the murder was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel, and 2) the existence of a probability Appellant would commit criminal acts of violence that would constitute a continuing threat to society. The jury trial was held before the Honorable Leslie D. Page. The jury found Appellant guilty of the crime charged and also found the existence of both alleged aggravating circumstances. Appellant was sentenced to death. From this Judgment and Sentence Appellant has perfected his appeal.1

FACTS

¶2 Around 12:30 a.m. on October 29, 1995, Officer Kevin Ormand of the Ponca City Police Department was approached by Appellant in the police department parking lot. Appellant raised his hands and said to the officer, “I just killed my aunt.” The officer responded, “You what?” Appellant repeated, “I just killed my aunt. I’m tired of her drinking.” Ormand asked where this had happened and Appellant told him, “212 South 7th.” Appellant’s hands and clothes were covered with a dry brownish substance. [1114]*1114The officer escorted Appellant into the police station and asked Officer Jim Sherron to place Appellant in a holding cell and watch him. He instructed that Appellant’s clothing not be taken from him and that Appellant not be allowed to wash his hands.

¶ 3 While Officer Sherron sat and watched Appellant in the holding cell, Appellant stated that he wanted to talk to somebody. Sherron asked Appellant what he wanted to talk about. Appellant replied that he had stabbed his aunt three or four times. A while later, Appellant asked Sherron, “What do you get?” Sherron responded, “For what?” Appellant said, “For murder. I killed my aunt.”

¶ 4 While Sherron watched Appellant, Orman had an ambulance and other police officers dispatched to 212 South 7th Street. When authorities arrived at the address, a duplex that Appellant shared with his aunt, they found the victim, Billie Jo Davis-Pollard lying naked in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. She had suffered several stab wounds.

¶ 5 After determining that the victim was dead, Detective William Thornton and Captain Porter returned to the police station to interview Appellant. During custodial interrogation Appellant again admitted that he had killed his aunt.

PRE-TRIAL ISSUES

¶ 6 On July 30, 1996, defense counsel filed an Application for Determination of Competency claiming that Appellant had been uncommunicative and unable to assist in his defense. A hearing was held on the application on July 30, 1996, and Appellant was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation. On September 16, 1996, at the scheduled Post-Examination Competency Hearing, defense counsel acknowledged that they had received a report on Appellant’s competency from Eastern State Hospital. Defense Counsel requested a continuance so that a psychologist retained by the defense could also have opportunity to examine Appellant. This request was granted and the hearing was continued until such examination could take place. On September 26, 1996, the Post-Examination Competency Hearing was held. At this hearing it was stipulated by defense counsel that both the report from Eastern State Hospital and the report from defendant’s retained psychologist, Dr. Murphy, concluded that Appellant was competent. Appellant was found by the trial court to be competent to stand trial.

¶ 7 Appellant was not present at any of the proceedings related to competency. However, defense counsel stated on the record, at the Post-Examination Competency Hearing that he was authorized by Appellant to waive Appellant’s right to be present at the hearing. Appellant now argues in his fifth proposition that the trial court erred in allowing the hearing on his competency to be held in his absence.

¶ 8 He first argues that the constitutional right to be present at a competency trial should be non-waivable. It is true that a defendant has a due process right to be present at his trial “whenever his presence has a relation, reasonably substantial, to the fullness of his opportunity to defend against the charge.” Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 105-06, 54 S.Ct. 330, 332, 78 L.Ed. 674 (1934); See also Kentucky v. Stincer, 482 U.S. 730, 745, 107 S.Ct. 2658, 2667, 96 L.Ed.2d 631 (1987); United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522, 526, 105 S.Ct. 1482, 1484, 84 L.Ed.2d 486 (1985). However, “the presence of a defendant is a condition of due process to the extent that a fair and just hearing would be thwarted by his absence, and to that extent only.” Snyder, 291 U.S. at 107-08, 54 S.Ct. at 333. In light of the fact that the results of two reports assessing Appellant to be competent were considered at the Post-Examination Competency Hearing, one of which was given by Appellant’s retained psychologist, we do not find that Appellant’s absence from the hearing thwarted the trial court’s ability to fairly and justly assess Appellant’s competency. Under these circumstances we find that Appellant was not deprived of any constitutional rights by being allowed to waive his right to attend the hearing at which his competency was determined. We do not,find that the constitutional right to be present at a competency trial should be per se non-waivable.

[1115]*1115¶ 9 Next Appellant contends that the record is not sufficient to establish that he expressly and unequivocally waived his absolute right to be present at his competency proceedings. The United States Supreme Court has held that “[t]he district court need not get an express ‘on the record’ waiver from the defendant for every trial conference which a defendant may have the right to attend.” Gagnon, 470 U.S. at 528, 105 S.Ct. at 1485. This Court is not persuaded that the competency hearing in the present case was a part of the capital trial process which required that the waiver of the right to be present be made by Appellant expressly and unequivocally on the record. Cf. Taylor v. State, 1995 OK CR 10, ¶¶ 46-50, 889 P.2d 319, 339^10 (Court denied claim of defendant, who was not present at Post-Examination Competency Hearing, that the trial judge could not have allowed defense counsel to waive defendant’s right to present evidence of incompetency). We find Appellant’s waiver in this case to have been sufficient.

¶ 10 Finally, Appellant argues that his absence from the competency proceedings was prejudicial. In support of this he cites Bryson v. State, 1994 OK CR 32, 876 P.2d 240, for the position that judicial observation of a defendant is so important that a judge may rely solely upon his or her observations to the exclusion of expert testimony in deciding competency. The Court in Bry-son held that the determination of competency “is made based upon the particular facts and circumstance of each case. The trial court is not bound to give precedence to the opinions of expert witnesses nor is it bound to consider opinions of witnesses which are not relevant to its decision.” Id. 1994 OK CR 32 at ¶ 12, 876 P.2d at 249-50.

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Davis v. State, 1999 OK CR 16, 980 P.2d 1111, 1999 WL 243595 (Okla. Ct. App. 1999).

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