State v. Lopez

LOCKWOOD, Justice:

The defendant, Robert Moreno Lopez, appeals a conviction upon a plea of guilty to second degree murder and sentence thereon of fifteen to twenty years in prison.

The only issue raised on appeal is whether the defendant’s guilty plea was valid under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution where there was evidence of his mental competence to stand trial and where the trial court did not hear oral testimony on the question of defendant’s competency.

The facts necessary for a determination of this issue are as follows: On June 28, 1971,…