Prisoner To Receive New Trial

Witness Violated Rights, Court Says

The Arkansas Court of Appeals has ordered that a Van Buren man who was sentenced to 100 years in prison get a new trial because a psychologist testified at his trial about incriminating statements the man made during a mental evaluation after he said he did not want to say anything about his charges.

Appeals Court Judge David M. Glover wrote for the majority in an opinion released last week that 37-year-old Rodney Scott Porta’s constitutional due process and self incrimination rights were violated.

“It appears that the issue is one of first impression in our state,” Glover wrote.

The opinion focused on Porta’s contention that the trial judge, Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell, erred by allowing psychologist Paul Deyoub to testify in Porta’s trial about incriminating statements Porta made during his September 2011 court-ordered mental evaluation.

The testimony was used by the prosecution as proof of Porta’s guilt in his February 2012 jury trial on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine, the opinion stated.

Deyoub had testified, according to the opinion, that he warned Porta that the mental evaluation report was not confidential. A copy of the report would be turned over to the prosecution and Deyoub could be called to testify about the report and his findings. Porta did not have to makeany statements about his charges, Deyoub told him, but if he did, they would be in the report.

Deyoub stated that after reading Porta a summary of the charges against him, Porta said he did not want to say anything. Buy Deyoub said Porta immediately told him that he was in the car and not in the house, that several methamphetamine labs in the trunk of his car were his and that he told his two passengers that he would take responsibility for the trunk contents.

Deyoub concluded in his report that Porta did not suffer from a mental disease or defect and was competent to stand trial.

Van Buren police had pulled over the car Porta was driving for a traffic violation on Dec. 8, 2010, and found the methamphetamine lab equipment in the trunk, according to the opinion.

Glover, referring to a similar federal appeals court ruling, wrote that Porta was placed in the position of having incriminating statements by him aired in court in order to have a mental evaluation as part of his right to a defense.

“Allowing the incriminating statements under the facts of this case placed Porta in a situation that required him to sacrifice one constitutional right [against self-incrimination] in order to claim another,” Glover wrote.

At his trial, the jury convicted Porta of manufacture of methamphetamine and recommended he be sentenced to 60 years in prison. On the possession of paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine conviction, the jury recommended he be sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $15,000.

The jury recommended the sentences be served consecutively.

Cottrell followed the jury’s recommendations in sentencing Porta.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 06/26/2013

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