United States v. Harris

Case: 21-30326 Document: 00516271982 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/07/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
April 7, 2022
No. 21-30326 Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Bryant Lamont Harris
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:20-CR-71-1
Before King, Jones, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Bryant Lamont Harris appeals the district court order holding that he
remains incompetent to stand trial and continuing his commitment to the
custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4241. Because of
Harris’s already lengthy pretrial detention, this court expedited the appeal.
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 21-30326 Document: 00516271982 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/07/2022
No. 21-30326
This court reviews a district court’s competency determination using
a “species of clear error” review. United States v. Simpson, 645 F.3d 300, 306
(5th Cir. 2011) (quoting United States v. Joseph, 333 F.3d 587, 589 (5th Cir.
2003)). “[A]fter re-analyzing the facts and taking a hard look at the trial
judge’s ultimate conclusion, [this court] will reverse only if the finding was
clearly arbitrary or unwarranted.” United States v. Porter, 907 F.3d 374, 380
(5th Cir. 2018) (quoting Simpson 645 F.3d at 306). After carefully reviewing
the record and hearing oral argument, this court finds that the district court’s
conclusion that Harris is still not competent to stand trial is not clearly
arbitrary or unwarranted. Critically, reports prepared by two forensic
psychologists and live testimony by one of those psychologists support the
district court’s conclusion. Notwithstanding our finding, the already much-
extended length of Harris’s pretrial detention is of great concern. We
therefore strongly urge the government and defense counsel to work
expeditiously to bring this case to a final conclusion.
AFFIRMED.
2