State v. Thomas Dee Huskey

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee·Decided December 1, 2010·No. 03S01-9610-CR-00096·Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE

FILED

March 9, 1998

FOR PUBLICATION

Cecil Crowson, Jr.

Appellate C ourt Clerk

STATE OF TENNESSEE, )

) Filed: March 9, 1998 Appellee )

)

) KNOX CRIMINAL

)

Vs. )

) HON. RICHARD BAUMGARTNER, ) JUDGE

)

THOMAS DEE HUSKEY, )

)

Appellant. ) No. 03S01-9610-CR-00096

For Appellant: For Appellee:

Herbert S. Moncier John Knox Walkup Knoxville, Tennessee Attorney General & Reporter

Gregory P. Isaacs Michael E. Moore Knoxville, Tennessee Solicitor General

John H. Baker, III

Assistant Attorney General Nashville, Tennessee

At Trial:

Randall Eugene Nichols

District Attorney General Knoxville, Tennessee

Professor Neil Cohen

Special Assistant Attorney General Knoxville, Tennessee

OPINION

TRIAL COURT AFFIRMED ANDERSON, C.J.

We granted interlocutory review in this death penalty case to determine whether the trial court’s orders compelling the defendant to undergo a mental examination in accordance with Tenn. R. Crim. P. 12.2(c), and requiring disclosure to the prosecution of material related to the examination, violated the right to counsel or the right against self-incrimination under the United States or Tennessee Constitutions.

We recently held that where a defendant asserts an insanity defense or seeks to introduce testimony with regard to a mental condition, a court-ordered mental evaluation, and disclosure of materials from the evaluation, does not violate the right against self-incrimination provided that any statements made by the defendant during the evaluation, and any “fruits” derived from such statements, are admissible at trial against the defendant only for impeachment or rebuttal of an issue respecting mental condition on which the defendant has introduced testimony. We also held that a defendant does not have the right to the physical presence of counsel during a court-ordered examination. State v. Martin, 950 S.W.2d 20 (Tenn. 1997); see Tenn. R. Crim. P. 12.2.

After reviewing the record, we conclude that our ruling in Martin controls much of the outcome of this case, and that the trial court’s orders did not violate the defendant’s rights under the United States or Tennessee Constitutions. The trial court’s judgment is affirmed and the case is remanded for trial.

BACKGROUND

The defendant, Thomas Dee Huskey, was indicted in case number 51903 for four counts of first-degree murder committed against four victims: Patricia Rose Anderson, Patricia Ann Johnson, Darlene Smith, and Susan East

Stone.1 The prosecution filed notice of its intent to seek the death penalty for each offense. This appeal pertains solely to the four capital charges in case number 51903; however, we will review the salient portions of the entire record to place the issues in procedural context.

In March and April of 1994, Huskey filed notice of his intent to use expert testimony with regard to a mental condition and to rely on an insanity defense with respect to all the cases. When the State filed a motion to compel Huskey to undergo a mental examination under Rule 12, Huskey moved for a protective order requiring, among other things, that counsel and a defense expert be permitted to attend the examination and that the examination be recorded. Huskey argued that these measures were necessary to preserve his right to counsel and his right against self-incrimination.

The trial judge, Judge Ray Lee Jenkins, denied the motion for a protective order and entered three written orders in all cases compelling Huskey to undergo a mental examination at the Helen Ross McNabb Mental Health Center in Knoxville. Although orders were entered on May 17, 1994, May 8, 1995, and May 11, 1995, no examinations were conducted because the defense refused. Judge Jenkins later ruled that because of the refusal to be examined, the defense could not rely on an insanity defense or introduce expert testimony as to a mental condition in one of the non-capital cases, case number 49828, which was finally tried in October of 1995.2 Huskey was convicted of rape and related offenses.

1 The defendant was also indicted in case numbers 49828, 49829, 49830, 49831, 50090, and 50 091 for m ultiple rapes , robberies , and kidn appings com mitted a gainst se veral victim s. Although the defendant has raised s everal issues with respect to these cases, they are not before us in this ap peal.

2 When Judge Jenkins subsequently recused himself, all of the cases, including the capital cases in number 51 903, were assigned to Judg e Richard Baum gartner.

With regard to the remaining cases, including the capital cases we are concerned with here, more hearings were held on the mental examination issues in February, April, and May of 1996. On May 2, 1996, Judge Baumgartner ordered that Huskey was to be examined by Dr. Clifton Tennison at the McNabb Mental Health Center. After a two-hour interview with Huskey, Tennison reported to the trial court that he needed more sessions with Huskey, additional background information, and also “someone with substantive experience and demonstrated expertise,” specifically in the field of disassociative identity disorder.

The trial court instructed Tennison to inquire into the availability of additional experts in the field after finding that someone with further expertise and experience was necessary to effectively complete the examination:

[Dr. Tennison] advised us that due to the nature of the illness that Mr. Huskey may suffer from, that he felt that he was not personally capable of providing the Court with the best evaluation that could be accomplished. And that he felt the appropriate thing for him to do within the discipline that he’s an expert in is to employ the services of an individual who was more qualified, had more experience, [and] had studied in this specific area of disassociative identity disorder.

At a later hearing, Tennison related the qualifications and experience of several experts in the field of disassociative identity disorder, including Dr. Phillip Coons, a psychiatrist in Indiana who had been brought to Tennison’s attention by the prosecution.

On May 9, 1996, the trial court ordered in all the cases that Huskey be examined by Tennison and Coons. The order required the examination to be recorded but stated that no one could be present during the examination unless approved by Tennison and Coons. The order required counsel for the State and the defense to make available Huskey’s medical records, employment records,

school records, psychological/psychiatric records, and witnesses with knowledge of Huskey’s conduct. The order stated that upon completion of the examination, the defense would have “a reasonable period” in which to decide whether it intended to proceed with an insanity defense or evidence respecting a mental condition; if it did, the State would be provided with the “evaluation and test results from the examination.”

Huskey objected to the participation of Coons, and argued that the order violated his right to counsel, right against self-incrimination, and right to due process. With regard to the four capital cases, the trial court granted Huskey’s request for an interlocutory appeal of the May 9, 1996 order pursuant to Tenn. R. App. P. 9.3 After the Court of Criminal Appeals denied the appeal, we granted Huskey’s application for permission to appeal to this Court, finding that review of the May 9th order prior to conducting the examination would provide guidance to the trial court on these issues and avoid the possibility of serious errors that potentially would require retrials of four complex capital cases.

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