Mitchell Thomas Blazak, Petitioner-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. James R. Ricketts, Donald Wawrzaszek, Respondents-Ap Pellants-Cross-Appellees

1 F.3d 891, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5775, 93 Daily Journal DAR 9861, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19682, 1993 WL 284962
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 2, 1993
Docket91-16549, 91-16562
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 1 F.3d 891 (Mitchell Thomas Blazak, Petitioner-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. James R. Ricketts, Donald Wawrzaszek, Respondents-Ap Pellants-Cross-Appellees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell Thomas Blazak, Petitioner-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. James R. Ricketts, Donald Wawrzaszek, Respondents-Ap Pellants-Cross-Appellees, 1 F.3d 891, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5775, 93 Daily Journal DAR 9861, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19682, 1993 WL 284962 (9th Cir. 1993).

Opinions

TANG, Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal by officials of the State of Arizona (hereinafter, “the State”) from the grant of habeas corpus to Mitchell Thomas Blazak pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The district court granted relief on Blazak’s claim that his due process rights were violated by the state trial court’s failure to determine his competency to stand trial. Blazak cross-appeals the denial of relief as to the remaining challenges to his convictions. These include claims that (1) there was insufficient evidence to sustain his conviction, (2) the accomplice testimony was not corroborated, (3) certain evidence introduced at trial had no probative value, (4) new evidence had been discovered which would likely lead to an acquittal, (5) the State failed to disclose that its key witness (the accomplice) had been released from custody during jury deliberations, (6) Blazak was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial, and (7) Blazak was absent during critical pretrial proceedings.

Because we are evenly divided on whether Blazak’s due process rights were violated by [893]*893the failure to determine his competency to stand trial, the judgment of the district court will stand affirmed. See United States v. Zolin, 491 U.S. 554, 561, 109 S.Ct. 2619, 2625, 105 L.Ed.2d 469 (1989).

BACKGROUND

On December 15, 1973, two men entered the Brown Fox Tavern in Tucson, Arizona. When the bartender refused to hand over any money, one of the men, wearing a ski mask, shot the bartender four times, killing him. The assailant also shot two bar patrons, killing one and seriously injuring the other. The two men fled by automobile.

Blazak was convicted on November 20, 1974, of two counts of first degree murder, one count of assault with intent to commit murder and one count of attempted armed robbery. He was sentenced to death on the two counts of murder, to incarceration for a period of not less than eighty years nor more than life on the count of assault with intent to commit murder, and to incarceration for a period of not less than twenty years nor more than thirty years on the attempted armed robbery count.

Blazak appealed his convictions and sentence, which were affirmed. State v. Blazak, 114 Ariz. 199, 560 P.2d 54, 61 (1977). The Arizona Supreme Court subsequently ordered resentencing pursuant to State v. Watson, 120 Ariz. 441, 586 P.2d 1253 (the death penalty statute is unconstitutional insofar as it limits the right of defendants to show all mitigating circumstances), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 924, 99 S.Ct. 1254, 59 L.Ed.2d 478 (1979), and Blazak was resentenced to death on September 11, 1980. State v. Blazak, 131 Ariz. 598, 643 P.2d 694, 695, cert. denied, 459 U.S. 882, 103 S.Ct. 184, 74 L.Ed.2d 149 (1982). Blazak’s convictions and sentence were again affirmed, and he unsuccessfully sought post-conviction relief in the Arizona courts. Id., 643 P.2d at 701.

Blazak then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in federal district court, and was twice allowed to amend his petition. Blazak’s second amended petition contained 37 claims for relief, eleven of which challenged his convictions, and the remaining challenging his death sentence. The district court granted relief as to the convictions and therefore did not consider Blazak’s challenges to his sentence. We considered sua sponte whether this court had jurisdiction over the appeal. We found that the grant of habeas corpus was a final judgment ripe for immediate review. Blazak v. Ricketts, 971 F.2d 1408, 1409, 1412 (9th Cir.1992). Judge Beezer dissented, arguing that a final judgment did not exist, id. at 1418 (Beezer, J., dissenting), and accordingly expresses no view on the merits here.

As to the merits of the appeal, a district court’s decision on a petition for writ of habeas corpus is reviewed de novo. Lincoln v. Sunn, 807 F.2d 805, 808 (9th Cir.1987).

DISCUSSION

I.

When Blazak was tried in 1974, it was a violation of due process to prosecute a defendant who was incompetent to stand trial, or to fail to conduct an evidentiary hearing where evidence before the trial court raised a “bona fide doubt”1 about the defendant’s competency to stand trial. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378, 385, 86 S.Ct. 836, 838, 842, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966); Moore v. United States, 464 F.2d 663, 666 (9th Cir.1972). This basic doctrine has not changed since 1974. See Medina v. California, — U.S. -, -, -, 112 S.Ct. 2572, 2574, 2581, 120 L.Ed.2d 353 (1992).

The State of Arizona, in accord with due process requirements, prohibits the prosecution of a defendant who is not competent to stand trial. See Ariz.R.Crim.P. 11.1 (1992) (“A person shall not be tried, convicted, sentenced or punished for a public offense while, as a result of a mental illness or defect, he is unable to understand the proceedings against [894]*894him or to assist in his own defense.”); Ariz. R.Crim.P. 11.3(a) (1992) (“If the court determines that reasonable grounds for an examination exist, it shall appoint at least two mental health experts ... to examine the defendant_”); Ariz.R.Crim.P. 11.5 (1992) (hearing required to determine competency after examinations completed).2

A defendant is competent if “he has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding—and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.” Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960). See also Godinez v. Moran, — U.S. -, -, 113 S.Ct. 2680, 2686, 125 L.Ed.2d 321 (1993).

The district court concluded after an evi-dentiary hearing that Blazak’s right to due process was violated by the state court’s failure to address Blazak’s competency prior to trial. The district court found:

At the time of his trial, Petitioner had a history of mental illness and had been found to be incompetent to stand trial in a[n] unrelated case several years earlier. At the [district court] evidentiary hearing, Psychologist Joseph Geffen testified that Petitioner should have been given a competency hearing before the trial. See Transcript of July 31, 1991 Hearing, p. 21. Howard Kashman, Petitioner’s attorney at the trial, testified that, had he known of Petitioner’s history of mental illness, he would have requested a competency hearing. See id. at 90. Medical records indicate that Petitioner had been hospitalized for mental illness several years before the trial, and that he had been diagnosed with several mental illnesses. All of this evidence indicates to this Court that there were reasonable grounds to question Petitioner’s competency at the time of trial.

The State argues that none of this evidence was before the state trial court at the time of trial and thus cannot support the district court’s finding that there was reasonable doubt regarding Blazak’s competency.

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1 F.3d 891, 93 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5775, 93 Daily Journal DAR 9861, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19682, 1993 WL 284962, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-thomas-blazak-petitioner-appellee-cross-appellant-v-james-r-ca9-1993.