United States v. Mills

385 F. Supp. 3d 566
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Mills. Read the opinion of the Court — 378 F. Supp. 3d 563
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided May 6, 2019·No. Case No. 16-cr-20460·Published

Opinion

Finally, Wilson makes the following two requests in his objections: (i) permit defense counsel to be present in the room during the Government's expert's interviewing and/or testing of Wilson, and (ii) authorize the video recording of any testing performed. The Court will address and deny each request in turn.

1. Right to Counsel During the Government's Neuropsychological Testing

Regarding his first request, Wilson acknowledges that his Atkins claim has resulted *572in a limited waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights, but only with respect to matters relevant to his supposed intellectual disability. Def. Objs. at 22. Wilson claims that he has a right to have counsel present during any examination "to advise him and to interpose appropriate objections," thereby protecting "his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent as to matters beyond the scope of the [ Atkins ] hearing, and to effectuate his Sixth Amendment rights." Id. (citing Gibbs v. Frank, 387 F.3d 268, 274 (3d Cir. 2004) ). Insofar as Wilson's counsel is not permitted to be physically present during the formal test examination itself, Wilson requests that his counsel be present during any interview portion, and then be afforded a "nearby venue in which to sit and monitor proceedings, with an audio feed, so that counsel has an opportunity to object, albeit not simultaneously, if necessary." Id. at 23. At the very least, counsel should be provided a nearby venue to sit, observe, and listen to both the interviewing and the testing of Wilson. Id. at 23. The Court disagrees with Wilson that any of these procedures are necessary to protect his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.

First, courts have held that defense counsel's presence during a mental health examination is not necessary to protect a defendant's Fifth Amendment rights because Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12.2 provides that " '[n]o statement made by a defendant in the course of any examination conducted under this rule ... and no other fruits of the statement may be admitted into evidence against the defendant in any criminal proceeding except on an issue regarding mental condition' on which the defendant has introduced expert evidence pursuant to rule 12.2." United States v. Sampson, 335 F. Supp. 2d 166, 247 (D. Mass. 2004) (quoting Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.2(c)(4) ); United States v. Moore, No. 07-161, 2008 WL 1944810, at *3 (E.D. Ark. May 2, 2008) ("The Court agrees with the Sampson court's well-reasoned analysis and concludes that, having placed his mental health in issue, defendant does not have a Fifth Amendment right to have counsel present during the government's corresponding evaluation."); cf. United States v. Johnson, 362 F. Supp. 2d 1043, 1088 (N.D. Iowa 2005) (recognizing that " Rule 12.2 does not ... contain any provisions specifying the manner in which a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel is to be protected in the context of a mental examination" (emphasis added)). And once Wilson put his mental condition at issue, he waived his right to raise a Fifth Amendment challenge to the Government's use of evidence obtained through a court-ordered examination to rebut his intellectual disability claim. Johnson, 362 F. Supp. 2d at 1088 (citing Powell v. Texas, 492 U.S. 680, 684, 109 S.Ct. 3146, 106 L.Ed.2d 551 (1989) (per curiam)). To the extent any interview or examination poses a risk to Wilson's Fifth Amendment rights beyond the purposes of rebutting his intellectual disability claim, this can be easily addressed through post-examination motions. United States v. Wilson, 920 F. Supp. 2d 287, 303-304 (E.D.N.Y. 2012).

Second, a criminal defendant has a Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel before submitting to any neuropsychological testing that represents a "critical stage" of that defendant's prosecution. Estelle v. Smith, 451 U.S. 454, 468-470, 101 S.Ct. 1866, 68 L.Ed.2d 359 (1981). However, if advance notice of the scope and nature of the testing is provided so that counsel can discuss with the defendant the advisability of undergoing the testing and how the results of that testing may be used in the future, "there would be no Sixth Amendment violation."

*573Johnson, 362 F. Supp. 2d at 1091 ("[F]or effective exercise of [the defendant's] Sixth Amendment rights, defense counsel must be informed of the 'nature and scope' of the 'mental health' proceedings[.]" (quoting Buchanan v. Kentucky, 483 U.S. 402, 424-425, 107 S.Ct. 2906, 97 L.Ed.2d 336 (1987) )); see also Wilson, 920 F. Supp. 2d at 305

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United States v. Mills, 385 F. Supp. 3d 566 (E.D. Mich. 2019).

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Related

Estelle v. Smith
451 U.S. 454 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Buchanan v. Kentucky
483 U.S. 402 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Powell v. Texas
492 U.S. 680 (Supreme Court, 1989)
United States v. Earl S. Baird
414 F.2d 700 (Second Circuit, 1969)
United States v. Fell
372 F. Supp. 2d 753 (D. Vermont, 2005)
United States v. Johnson
362 F. Supp. 2d 1043 (N.D. Iowa, 2005)
United States v. Sampson
335 F. Supp. 2d 166 (D. Massachusetts, 2004)
United States v. Wilson
920 F. Supp. 2d 287 (E.D. New York, 2012)