I completely understand why Justice Feinberg comes out this way. Her analysis of precedent is coherent and thoughtful. I appreciated it.
But unlike Justice Feinberg, I think that Justice King's dissent in 2010 got it right. My view is that a defendant has a constitutional right to testify in his own criminal competency hearing. Yes, his lawyer didn't think it was a good idea for his client to testify. But the client wanted to. That's a critical right, and one we should respect.
People have a right (obviously) to testify in their own defense at a criminal trial. The same should be true in the competency aspect of a criminal trial. If the client wants to take the stand and provide evidence that he's not competent, great. We'll evaluate that evidence. Ditto if he wants to take the stand and claim that he is competent, even though his lawyer (and perhaps the doctors) insist he's not. That's great too. The judge will hear him out and make a decision one way or the other.
There's a serious dignitary interest at stake. Particularly when, as here, the competency determination is likely to be the dispositive one -- everyone admits here, for example, that the defendant in fact stabbed the various people he stabbed (very likely in a psychotic state). If a guy wants to testify, let him testify. Even if his lawyer thinks it's a bad idea. It's the client's life at stake, after all, not the lawyer's. And letting the client testify will only enhance, rather than retard, the search for truth. If I am the judge trying to decide whether a particular defendant is competent or not, I can't fathom not wanting to hear him testify if he's so inclined. That'll help me immensely, I suspect, in deciding whether or not the guy's in fact competent to understand or assist with his defense.
There's no binding California Supreme Court case going the other way, so that's the way I would rule if I was on the Court of Appeal. And were I the California Supreme Court, I would take this case up and hold the defendants have a right to testify at their competency hearing if they want. Full stop.
