150
Thomas, J., dissenting
could not participate effectively in his defense. He has not stated how he would have directed his counsel to examine or cross-examine witnesses differently. He has not identified any testimony or instructions that he did not understand. The record, moreover, does not even support his assertion that Mellaril made him worse off. As Justice Rose noted in his concurring opinion below: "Two psychiatrists who had prescribed Mellaril for Riggins, Dr. Quass and Dr. O'Gorman, testified that they believed it was helpful to him. Additional psychiatric testimony established that Mellaril may have increased Riggins' cognitive ability . . . ." 107 Nev., at 185, 808 P. 2d, at 540. See also State v. Hayes, 118 N. H. 458, 461, 389 A. 2d 1379, 1381 (1978) (holding a defendant's perception adequate because "[a]ll the expert evidence support[ed] the conclusion that the medication ha[d] a beneficial effect on the defendant's ability to function").1 Riggins' competence, moreover, tends to confirm that he had a fair trial. See State v. Jojola, supra, at 492, 553 P. 2d, at 1299 (presuming, absent other evidence, that the side effects of an antipsychotic drug did not render a competent defendant unable to participate fully in his trial). I thus see no basis for reversing the Nevada Supreme Court.
II
Riggins also argues for reversal on the basis of our holding in Washington v. Harper, 494 U. S. 210, 221 (1990), that the Due Process Clause protects a substantive "liberty interest" in avoiding unwanted medication. Riggins asserts that Nevada unconstitutionally deprived him of this liberty interest by forcing him to take Mellaril. The Court agrees, ruling
1 We previously have noted that " '[p]sychotropic medication is widely accepted within the psychiatric community as an extraordinarily effective treatment for both acute and chronic psychoses, particularly schizophrenia.' " Washington v. Harper, 494 U. S. 210, 226, n. 9 (1990) (quoting Brief for American Psychiatric Association et al. as Amici Curiae, O. T. 1989, No. 88-599, pp. 10-11).
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