152
Thomas, J., dissenting
not change the result of the case. The Court cannot make the same assumption if it requires reversal of Riggins' conviction.
Riggins also cannot complain about a violation of Harper because he did not argue below for reversal of his conviction on the ground that Nevada had deprived him of a liberty interest. Riggins consistently maintained in the Nevada courts that he did not have a "full and fair trial" because the medication deprived him of the opportunity to present his demeanor to the jury and to participate in his defense. App. 20-24 (trial court motion); id., at 42-47 (trial court reply); Record 1018-1021 (appellate brief); id., at 1068-1071 (appellate reply brief). As counsel for Nevada put it at oral argument: "The way this issue was initially presented to the trial court was really a question of trial strategy. There was never an indication in this case that Mr. Riggins was a Harper-type defendant who did not want to be medicated." Tr. of Oral Arg. 23.3
Because the claims that Riggins raised below have no merit, Riggins has altered his theory of the case. The Court, therefore, should not condemn the Nevada courts because they "did not acknowledge the defendant's liberty interest in freedom from unwanted antipsychotic drugs." Ante, at 137. The Nevada courts had no reason to consider an argument that Riggins did not make. We have said quite recently that "[i]n reviewing the judgments of state courts under the jurisdictional grant of 28 U. S. C. § 1257, the Court has, with very rare exceptions, refused to consider petition-3 Riggins noted in his reply brief before the Nevada Supreme Court that the courts in United States v. Bryant, 670 F. Supp. 840, 843 (Minn. 1987), and Bee v. Greaves, 744 F. 2d 1387 (CA10 1984), had recognized a personal liberty interest in avoiding unwanted medication. Record 1070-1071. Yet, Riggins never asked for reversal because of a deprivation of this interest. He argued for reversal in that brief only on grounds that the medication "violated [his] right to a 'full and fair' trial because it denied him the ability to assist in his defense, and prejudiced his demeanor, attitude, and appearance to the jury." Id., at 1068.
Page: Index Previous 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007