United States v. Janaris Shavar Cunningham

194 F. App'x 582
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJune 15, 2006
Docket05-14299
StatusUnpublished

This text of 194 F. App'x 582 (United States v. Janaris Shavar Cunningham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Janaris Shavar Cunningham, 194 F. App'x 582 (11th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Janaris Shaver Cunningham appeals his convictions for carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119, and brandishing and discharging a firearm during a carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(l)(A)(n)-(iii). Cunningham claims the district court erred in not finding him incompetent when he did not receive his psychotropic medication for half a day during trial and in not declaring a mistrial after a courtroom outburst. He further asserts there was insufficient evidence to convict him on the first count of carjacking. We affirm Cunningham’s convictions.

I. DISCUSSION

A. Competency

Cunningham asserts the prison’s failure to give him his psychotropic medication for half of a day during trial caused severe behavioral problems, and thus, rendered him incompetent to stand trial. He asserts due process violations because he was convicted as an incompetent and without an adequate competency evaluation. Cunningham emphasizes his need for the medication and states the district court should have postponed the trial in order to allow him to stabilize.

While Cunningham moved for a mistrial on the morning when he did not receive his medication, his motion was based only on the district court’s decision to exclude him from the courtroom if he was unwilling to wear the stun belt that had been required for security reasons. Accordingly, Cunningham did not raise before the district court the issue of whether the accidental failure to give him his medication rendered him incompetent.

Typically, we review issues raised for the first time on appeal for plain error. 1 *584 United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 1776-79, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993). In the context of 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motions, however, we have stated that a substantive claim of incompetence to stand trial may not be waived or procedurally defaulted. See Battle v. United States, 419 F.3d 1292, 1298 (11th Cir.2005). The normal standard of review of a competency determination is for clear error. United States v. Hogan, 986 F.2d 1364, 1371 (11th Cir.1993). We need not decide the standard of review here, however, because under either standard of review, Cunningham’s claim fails.

A defendant is mentally incompetent to stand trial when he is “suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense.” 18 U.S.C. § 4241(a). A district court must conduct a competency hearing where there is a bona fide doubt about a criminal defendant’s competence. United States v. Rahim, 431 F.3d 753, 759 (11th Cir.2005), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 126 S.Ct. 1820, 164 L.Ed.2d 552 (2006). This is an ongoing inquiry, as “the defendant must be competent at all stages of trial.” Id.

Before trial, Cunningham was given a mental competency evaluation. A psychologist addressed whether Cunningham understood the charges against him, the potential consequences thereof, the trial process, and whether he was capable of assisting in his defense, and determined that he did understand and could assist. Cunningham’s behavior problems were noted and attributed to withdrawal from various substances and to a “characterological disorder.” The psychologist, however, recommended a finding of competency, and this recommendation was not contingent on the administration of medication.

This pre-trial competency finding is not challenged. Instead, Cunningham claims he later was rendered incompetent when he was not given his medication one morning during trial. Nothing in the record supports this contention. There is no dispute that, on the morning in question, Cunningham caused significant, and sometimes violent, disturbances in his holding cell. However, given that the original, unchallenged competency determination was not contingent on whether Cunningham received medication, it is difficult to see how the failure to administer medication one morning could have rendered him incompetent. In fact, the district court, as part of its efforts to ensure that Cunningham’s rights were fully protected during the trial, discussed this matter with medical staff at the prison, and was informed that missing one dose of medication would not cause the conduct in which Cunningham engaged that morning. Further, as a result of Cunningham’s behavior, no trial activities took place that morning. By the time the trial resumed that afternoon, the missed dose of medication had been administered, and thus, even if Cunningham had been rendered incompetent by the missed dose, this condition would have been corrected. Not only was Cunningham not rendered incompetent by his missed dose of medication, his actions that morning did not raise a bona fide doubt as to his competency. Accordingly, the district court neither clearly *585 nor plainly erred by not finding Cunningham incompetent.

B. Mistrial

Cunningham next contends the district court abused its discretion by not declaring a mistrial after the jury was exposed to extraneous information. The outside influences on which Cunningham relies are his courtroom outburst, which caused security staff to activate the stun belt that Cunningham was wearing and then “tackle” him to the floor, and the district court’s subsequent explanation that trial delays had been caused by Cunningham’s behavior.

We review a decision not to declare a mistrial based on an allegation that the jury has been unfairly prejudiced for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Cousins, 842 F.2d 1245, 1247 (11th Cir. 1988). It is possible for the security measures taken by a trial court to be sufficiently unfairly prejudicial to a criminal defendant as to cause a due process violation. See Holbrook v. Flynn, 475 U.S. 560, 106 S.Ct. 1340, 89 L.Ed.2d 525 (1986) (habeas context). Although we have not directly stated a defendant may not require a mistrial through his own misconduct, it is well-established that a defendant generally may not benefit through his own misconduct, see, e.g., United States v. Rouco, 765 F.2d 983

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Related

United States v. Mitchell
146 F.3d 1338 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Diaz
248 F.3d 1065 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Fulford
267 F.3d 1241 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Keith Anderson
289 F.3d 1321 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Anthony George Battle v. United States
419 F.3d 1292 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
United States v. Ras Rahim
431 F.3d 753 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Holbrook v. Flynn
475 U.S. 560 (Supreme Court, 1986)
United States v. Olano
507 U.S. 725 (Supreme Court, 1993)
United States v. Eduardo Jaime Rouco
765 F.2d 983 (Eleventh Circuit, 1985)
United States v. William Patrick Cousins
842 F.2d 1245 (Eleventh Circuit, 1988)
United States v. Stewart
256 F.3d 231 (Fourth Circuit, 2001)

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194 F. App'x 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-janaris-shavar-cunningham-ca11-2006.