Montoya v. State
The trial court should not have sua sponte raised the issue
of the defendant's competency to stand trial for possession of cocaine
when she exhibited momentary confusion during the plea hearing and
testimony indicated past impairment possibly due to end-stage liver
disease. The trial court correctly used the bona fide doubt standard for
determining whether there should be an inquiry into the defendant's
competency. The defendant did not exhibit any truly bizarre behavior
and did not have a recent history of severe mental illness or at least
moderate mental retardation.
