United States v. Duncan, III, No. 08-99031 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty to three capital charges and seven other charges in connection with the kidnapping, sexual abuse, and murder of a 9 year-old boy and the kidnapping and sexual abuse of an 8 year-old girl. Defendant exercised his right to represent himself during his penalty phase hearing and his lawyer challenged his competency to do so. After the district court rejected the challenge, defendant received a death sentence, and standby counsel filed a timely notice of appeal. At issue was whether the court lacked jurisdiction because standby counsel had no standing to appeal and if the court did have jurisdiction, whether the district court erred in its determination that defendant competently could represent himself and waived his right to appeal. The court held that standby counsel's standing was established under Mason ex rel. Marson v. Vasquez. The court also held that, in light of the circumstances, the court agreed with standby counsel that a competency hearing was required where the evidence created a reasonable doubt about defendant's competence. Therefore, the court reversed and remanded for a retrospective competency hearing.
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