Lawrence Beck v. Mark Nooth

MEMORANDUM

Respondent-appellant Mark Nooth, Superintendent of the Snake River Correctional Institution, appeals the district court’s grant of petitioner-appellee Law rence Roy Beck’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas petition challenging his conviction for multiple crimes, including four counts of attempted murder of law enforcement officers with a firearm in violation of Or.Rev. Stat. §§ 161.405, 163.115, and 161.610. Notwithstanding the deferential standard of review under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d), the district court held that Beck was denied effective assistance of counsel when Beck’s trial counsel failed to move for a competency hearing before allowing Beck to plead guilty, and that Beck was denied due process when the trial court did not sua sponte order such a hearing. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we reverse.

The district court erred in holding that the state court’s determination that Beck’s trial counsel was not ineffective was an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254 (d)(1). Based on the transcript and the trial counsel’s affidavit, the state court could reasonably determine that Beck had “(1) a rational as well as…