Fields

MEMORANDUM *

We reject Fields’ contention that the district court should have ordered a competency hearing.

I. District Judge’s Expressions of Doubt Regarding Fields’ Competency

The district judge did not make an express finding that there was reasonable cause to.believe that Fields was not mentally competent to stand trial. 1 In addition, given that the judge raised the competency question on his own, voiced his *740 serious doubts about Fields’ competency, affirmatively sought the opinions of government counsel and of Fields’ probation officer on the matter, and yet did not make a formal reasonable cause finding, the judge’s expressions of doubt cannot be viewed as implicit findings of reasonable cause. To the contrary, the circumstances suggest that the judge ultimately determined there was not reasonable cause to believe Fields was not mentally competent to stand trial. The judge therefore made no findings that triggered § 4241(a)’s competency hearing requirement.

We reject Fields’ argument that a § 4241(a) hearing was required simply because the district judge did, in fact, entertain serious doubts about Fields’ competency. The test we apply is “whether a reasonable judge…