Issue

Preservation of issues—criminal defendant’s right to competency hearing—statutory—waiver

Summary

In a prosecution for multiple charges arising from defendant's involvement in a scheme to throw footballs containing illegal drugs into a prison yard, where a competency evaluation was ordered for defendant but he posted bond and was released approximately two weeks later without having been evaluated, defendant waived his statutory right to a competency hearing under N.C.G.S. § 15A-1002 by failing–over the course of several years between entry of the evaluation order and his conviction–to assert the issue at trial or beforehand by, for example, remaining in pretrial custody for the evaluation, moving to amend the evaluation order in light of his release, or checking himself into a hospital for the ordered evaluation after his pretrial release. Further, nothing in the record since entry of the evaluation order suggested any competency concerns, defendant repeatedly represented himself as competent at trial, and defendant specifically disclaimed any constitutional competency challenge on appeal.

Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →