United States v. James Guerrero

I. Background

On August 14, 2008, Guerrero and Sablan were indicted for first-degree murder, first-degree murder of a United States correctional officer, and murder by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111(a), 1114, and 1118. The Government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.

In April 2011, Guerrero lodged with the district court for under seal filing a Motion for Hearing to Determine Compe- tency of Defendant James Ninete Leon Guerrero, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4241(a). Attached to the motion are a Compe- tency Evaluation Report and a Neuropsychological Evaluation 10280 UNITED STATES v. GUERRERO Report, both of which were prepared by a neuropsychologist. The Government subsequently filed a motion for a psychiatric or psychological examination of Guerrero to determine his competence to stand trial, which the district court granted. A Bureau of Prisons forensic psychologist submitted a forensic evaluation of Guerrero’s competence to stand trial.

Guerrero then lodged with the district court for under seal filing a Motion to Seal Competency Proceedings. Attached to the motion are six exhibits, including a…

Opinion by Judge MURGUIA; Dissent by Judge REINHARDT.

OPINION

Defendant-Appellant James Ninete Leon Guerrero and his co-defendant Jose Cabrera Sabían are charged with the murder of a United States correctional officer. The Government has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty. This is an interlocutory appeal of the district court’s order denying Guerrero’s motion to seal his pretrial competency proceedings and related filings. We conclude that we do not have jurisdiction over the appeal pursuant to either the collateral order doctrine or a petition for a writ of mandamus, and therefore dismiss.

I. Background

On August 14, 2008, Guerrero and Sabían were indicted for first-degree murder, first-degree murder of a United States correctional officer, and murder by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 (a), 1114, and 1118. The Government filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.

In April 2011, Guerrero lodged with the district court for under seal filing a Motion for Hearing to Determine Competency of Defendant James Ninete Leon Guerrero, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4241 (a). Attached to the motion are a Competency…

dissenting:

We consider for collateral review, the class of cases involving appeals from orders granting or denying motions to seal competency proceedings. I would hold that the class satisfies each of the three requisite factors for establishing jurisdiction under the collateral order doctrine, Cohen v. Beneficial Ind. Loan Corp., 337 U.S. 541 , 69 S.Ct. 1221 , 93 L.Ed. 1528 (1949), and that we therefore have jurisdiction over all such appeals, including Guerrero’s appeal in this case. The majority recognizes that this class of cases meets the first and second Cohen factors. It errs on the third Cohen factor, however, when it focuses on attorney-client privilege, undervaluing the importance of First Amendment freedoms and privacy at stake in each appeal from a criminal case.

It is sometimes easiest to examine the class by using the illustration of the case before the court. I will therefore begin my analysis doing so here. In this death penalty case, the defendant seeks to seal the record of his competency hearing, at least until completion of his criminal proceeding. The district judge denied his request. Now, the majority refuses to permit him to appeal that ruling until…