Michael Edwin Schneider v. James A. Lynaugh, Director, Texas Department of Corrections

835 F.2d 570, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 189, 1988 WL 30
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 12, 1988
Docket86-1495
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 835 F.2d 570 (Michael Edwin Schneider v. James A. Lynaugh, Director, Texas Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Michael Edwin Schneider v. James A. Lynaugh, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, 835 F.2d 570, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 189, 1988 WL 30 (5th Cir. 1988).

Opinion

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

In Buchanan v. Kentucky, 1 the Supreme Court held that when a criminal defendant has introduced psychological testimony concerning his mental state, he may not then invoke the privilege against self-incrimination to bar the prosecution from rebutting his evidence with statements he made during an examination by a court-appointed psychiatrist. In this case, the defendant in a state court trial for aggravated robbery offered testimony, at the sentencing phase of the trial, from drug treatment and rehabilitation counselors who opined that the defendant was capable of rehabilitation. In rebuttal, the State then called a court-appointed psychiatrist who had earlier examined the defendant at the defendant’s request to determine his competency. The psychiatrist testified that he believed, based on his examination, that the defendant was a sociopath without prospect of rehabilitation. The jury sentenced the defendant to serve 75 years.

The defendant seeks habeas corpus relief, contending that Buchanan does not apply when a defendant has not introduced expert mental health testimony from a psychiatrist or psychologist. We find no significant difference, however, between the opinions offered by these rehabilitation counselors and expert opinions from a mental health professional, and we therefore affirm the district court judgment denying Schneider’s petition.

I.

Michael Schneider was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery for the holdup of two Dallas drugstores in February and March, 1979. In each robbery, an armed man had entered the pharmacy, pointed his gun at an employee, demanded narcotics, and then fled without taking any drugs, although the gunman in the first hold-up did steal $77. In each case, drugstore employees positively identified Schneider as the gunman.

*572 Before trial, Schneider’s court-appointed counsel moved for a psychiatric examination to determine Schneider’s competency to stand trial. 2 Counsel stated that, although he did not believe Schneider was incompetent to stand trial or had been insane at the time of the offenses, he had filed the motion at Schneider’s request. The court appointed Dr. James Grigson, a Dallas psychiatrist who specializes in examining persons accused of criminal offenses and in evaluating their competency and sanity. Dr. Grigson determined that Schneider was both sane and competent to stand trial.

At the guilt phase of his trial, Schneider presented no evidence but argued that the eyewitness testimony was inconsistent and insufficient to prove the elements of the offenses. The jury convicted him on both counts.

At the punishment phase, the State introduced a Texas Department of Corrections “penitentiary packet” bearing Schneider’s name to prove that Schneider had a prior felony conviction, a factor that could enhance the sentence under Texas law. 3 Schneider then presented three witnesses — a drug abuse counselor, an employee in a rehabilitation program at the jail where Schneider had been held pending his trial, and a jail chaplain — all of whom testified, based on their personal observations of Schneider and his participation in rehabilitation and drug counseling programs at the jail, that Schneider had been a drug addict but sincerely wanted to overcome his habit and was capable of rehabilitation.

Schneider’s first witness, Lou Detwiler, was a counselor with the Palmer Drug Abuse Program, a drug rehabilitation program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous. Detwiler described the Palmer program, for which he had worked six months, as the largest and most effective of its kind in Dallas. He testified that he had met with Schneider for an hour every week for two months and had concluded, after some initial doubts, that Schneider sincerely wanted to overcome his drug addiction and could be cured. Among other things, Detwiler testified, Schneider had been a “real positive influence” in Detwiler’s weekly class, had offered to help counsel young people against taking drugs, and wanted to keep working with Detwiler even after being sent to prison.

On cross-examination, Detwiler admitted that he had based his opinion entirely on what Schneider had told him, that he had never conducted any psychological tests on Schneider or asked detailed questions about his background, and that he was not familiar with the details of Schneider’s pri- or criminal record. Detwiler also admitted that, although he was acquainted, from his work, with the concept of a “sociopath,” he could not offer a “clear definition” of the term.

Schneider then called Andrew Tubbs, a 24-year-old employed by the Dallas County Education Rehabilitation Program to teach college-credit courses to inmates at the county jail. Tubbs, who had a B.S. degree in corrections, testified that one goal of the teaching program was to rehabilitate inmates by “preparing them to go back into society” and “sustain themselves.” Schneider, he said, had enrolled in several courses, was receiving A’s in all of them, and was active in class discussions. Tubbs testified that he believed Schneider was capable of rehabilitation and that previous attempts at reform had failed because Schneider’s drug counselor and parole officer had not devoted sufficient effort to helping him.

On cross-examination, Tubbs also admitted that he had based his opinion entirely on what Schneider had told him and that he had learned of Schneider’s drug addiction only two and a half weeks earlier. In response to the State’s questioning, Tubbs described a sociopath generally as a person who was “manipulative,” lacking in “social conscience,” and “unable to adjust in our society today,” but he added that sociopaths could be reformed “if they’re willing to be helped.”

*573 Finally, Schneider called Wilma Mae Sumlin, a chaplain at the county jail hired through the Turnpike Church of Christ in Grand Prairie, Texas. Sumlin, an assistant pastor at the church, had served as a chaplain for two years, and also testified that she had “somewhat of a background” in rehabilitation counseling in Ohio. Sumlin testified she believed Schneider had undergone a sincere religious conversion and was not “trying to do this just to get out.” She said that other inmates had tried to “con” her and that Schneider’s attitude was different because, for example, he had offered to help other inmates with their problems. On cross-examination, Sumlin described her belief in Schneider’s sincerity as an “innate feeling” based on conversations and “a difference in his behavior” over several weeks, but she admitted that she knew nothing of Schneider’s background.

Schneider also sought a postponement to call two other jail chaplains who were unavailable at the time, but the trial court refused this request, and Schneider rested. The State then called Dr. Grigson, over Schneider’s objection. Dr. Grigson testified that his practice was primarily in “criminal legal psychiatry,” evaluating whether defendants were, for example, competent, sane, or likely to make probation. In twelve years of private practice, Dr. Grigson estimated, he had examined almost 9,000 persons charged with felonies and several hundred charged with misdemeanors. Indeed, issues involving testimony by Dr.

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Bluebook (online)
835 F.2d 570, 1988 U.S. App. LEXIS 189, 1988 WL 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/michael-edwin-schneider-v-james-a-lynaugh-director-texas-department-of-ca5-1988.