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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Dressler
Smith v. Murrary
Citation:
477 U.S. 527, 106 S.Ct. 2661, 91 L.Ed.2d 434.Facts
The defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Prior to his trial, the defendant’s attorney had explored the possibility of psychiatric defenses. The attorney requested that the trial court appoint a private psychiatrist to conduct an examination of the defendant. During the examination, the defendant told the doctor that he had once torn the clothes off a girl on a school bus with the plan to rape her. That information, together with a diagnosis of “Sociopathic Personality; Sexual Deviation (rape),” was forwarded to the court, the defense attorney, and the prosecutor. At no point prior to or during the interview did the doctor inform the defendant that his statements might be used against him.
At the sentencing phase of the trial, the prosecutor called the doctor to testify about the incident on the school bus and his diagnosis. The defendant appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, but did not assign any error concerning the admission of the doctor’s testimony. His appeal was unsuccessful.
The defendant sought a writ of habeas corpus, arguing for the first time that the admission of the doctor’s testimony violated his privilege against self-incrimination. The District Court denied the petition.
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