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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The man charged with snatching Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom nearly eight years ago could finally face a jury after a federal judge ruled Monday he is competent to stand trial.
It's a big day for prosecutors, law enforcement and the Smart family, who are now one step closer to seeing a resolution in the criminal case against Brian David Mitchell. The decision comes after a two-week competency hearing held in federal court in December.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball concluded that Mitchell does not presently suffer from a mental disorder and can understand the charges against him. The judge also said Mitchell uses his own belief system to achieve his own self-interested purposes.
Mitchell's hallmark disruptive singing in court -- evidence he's mentally incompetent, his attorneys say -- is "theatrical" and a "contrivance" the suspect uses to give the impression he can't control his behavior, Kimball wrote in a 149-page ruling issued Monday.
"The evidence proves that Mitchell has the capacity to assist his counsel in his defense and the ability to behave appropriately in the courtroom," Kimball wrote. "Although the defense has suggested that Mitchell's singing is a psychotic response to stress, Mitchell has repeatedly demonstrated that he has the capacity to be composed and in control, even in stressful situations."
The evidence proves that Mitchell has the capacity to assist his counsel in his defense and the ability to behave appropriately in the courtroom.
–U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball
Monday's ruling is a leap forward in a case that languished in state court as a judge twice ruled Mitchell incompetent and refused to force him to be medicated. Prosecutors say that's why they approached the U.S. Attorney's Office about filing charges: They say the federal judge had the benefit of more evidence and testimony.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller said, "Had the federal prosecutors not taken the case, we would have ended up having to go for a civil commitment. We would not have been able to go any further with the criminal charges."
The U.S. attorney's office intervened in 2008, indicting Mitchell in federal court on charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines.
Chief Chris Burbank of the Salt Lake City Police Department said, "To be able to stand before you and say we are proceeding with some resolution in this matter is obviously a tremendous success and one that we are very proud of."
Kimball's ruling sets up a March 26 hearing to determine a trial date. During a press conference Monday, federal prosecutors said there are no plea discussions going on right now. Mitchell cannot appeal the judge's ruling until after the case is resolved.
Smart was 14 when she was kidnapped from her home in 2002. She was found nine months later, in March 2003, walking a suburban Salt Lake City street with Mitchell and his now-estranged wife, Wanda Barzee.
Smart, now 22, testified for the competency hearing in October, saying she was raped after a marriage ceremony staged by Mitchell and throughout her captivity. Smart said he was driven by sex and not religion. Many pages in the judge's ruling cite her testimony, and prosecutors believe it played an important role in the judge's decision.
Experts who testified during a 10-day hearing last year split in their opinions about Mitchell's competency.
The prosecution's expert, New York forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael Welner, concluded the Mitchell suffers from a range of disorders, including pedophilia, anti-social and narcissistic personality disorders, but said he was not psychotic or delusional.
The key expert for the defense, Dr. Jennifer Skeem, diagnosed Mitchell with a delusional disorder and said he was incompetent.
But the judge agreed with Welner, who said Mitchell was faking mental illness to avoid responsibility for wrongdoing. Welner described Mitchell as an "effectively misleading psychopath" who has duped those around him into thinking he is incompetent.
Mitchell's court-appointed attorney, Robert Steele, told KSL, "We think it's very clear that he is mentally ill, and so we're in this position where we'll continue to prepare for trial as best we can with an extremely mentally ill client."
It's a significant step toward holding the defendant accountable for his conduct.
–Carlie Christensen, acting U.S. attorney for Utah.
The defense plans to raise an insanity defense in the upcoming trial. Steele also does not think Mitchell will appeal the competency ruling.
Carlie Christensen, the acting U.S. attorney for Utah, applauded the ruling Monday, calling it a significant step in holding Mitchell accountable. "This is an extraordinary step in what has been a long time coming, in our view," she said. "It's a significant step toward holding the defendant accountable for his conduct."
Elizabeth Smart's father, Ed Smart, said he was thrilled Mitchell was found competent.
"Because he is competent; he's crazy like a fox," Ed Smart said.
Ed Smart said he didn't think his daughter, who is serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paris, had heard the news yet.
Barzee, 64, pleaded guilty to federal charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines in November. Last month she pleaded guilty in state court to a charge related to the attempted kidnapping of Smart's cousin. Prosecutors dropped other state charges against her.
Barzee's lawyer, Scott Williams, told The Associated Press on Monday that Barzee has agreed to testify at Mitchell's trial.
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Story compiled with contributions from the Associated Press and Sandra Yi.
