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Opinion WERDEGAR, J. Following a trial at which he represented himself with the assistance of advisory counsel, a Stanislaus County jury convicted Dennis Harold Lawley of single counts of murder (Pen. Code, § 187), conspiracy to commit murder (§ 182, subd. (a)(1)) and solicitation to murder (§ 653f, subd. (b)). The jury also found true an arming allegation (§ 12022, subd. (a)) and a financial-gain special-circumstance allegation (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(1)). The same jury subsequently found the appropriate penalty for the murder and conspiracy counts to be death; the trial court imposed sentence accordingly. This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).) We shall vacate as unauthorized the special circumstance finding and sentence of death on the conspiracy count; modify the judgment to direct the trial court to amend the abstract of judgment to provide for a sentence of imprisonment for 25 years to life, stayed pursuant to section 654, on the conspiracy count; and otherwise affirm the judgment, including the murder and conspiracy convictions and the sentence of death for the murder count. Facts Guilt phase 1. Prosecution evidence On January 22, 1989, George Silva, Jr., was living on the southeast comer of Keyes and Jennings Roads in Stanislaus County. That evening, Silva, who was familiar with firearms and the sound of gunfire, heard what sounded like three large-caliber pistol shots. After each shot, Silva heard a “thud,” as if an object were being struck by the shots. Shortly after the shots were fired, Silva heard a car drive at a high speed past his house and observed a car driving westbound toward Jennings Road. The time was approximately 7:45 p.m. Between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m. that same evening, Kay Spencer was driving in the vicinity of Keyes and Jennings Roads. As she turned north onto Jennings Road from West Main, she saw the taillights of a vehicle about one-quarter to one-half mile in the distance ahead of her. As the other car negotiated a curve, its taillights disappeared from view. When Spencer turned east on Keyes Road, she saw what appeared to be the same distinctive taillights on a car stopped about a quarter-mile from the intersection. The car was an older-model full-size sedan, dark green or brown in color. Although she was not positive, she believed the brake lights were on. Spencer testified she thought she saw three people around the car: at the open trunk, a dark-haired man of medium height, apparently in his mid-20’s; on the right-hand side of the vehicle, a slighter, sandy-haired man walking toward the back of the car; and a third person Spencer could not describe. About 8:00 p.m. that evening, while driving eastbound with his girlfriend on Keyes Road toward Crows Landing, Hubert Blake observed a pair of legs protruding onto the road. Looking closer, he saw a man lying facedown, his body half on the road and half on the adjacent dirt. Blake drove back down the road to a trailer occupied by Phil Silva, whom he had been visiting earlier that evening, had his girlfriend direct the occupants to call 911, and drove back to the scene. After determining the man was dead, Blake covered him with a towel. The victim, later identified as Kenneth Lawton Stewart, had suffered two gunshot wounds to the back of the head. Abrasions on his face were consistent with his being shot in the back of the head while lying facedown. A fragment of a bullet jacket or casing was found entangled in Stewart’s hair; another fragment was discovered approximately four to six feet north of his head. Underneath the body was blood and brain matter; blood was also present on the dirt and asphalt. Police also found two moist oil stains on the roadway near the body. After learning, the next day, that a body had been found on Keyes Road, Kay Spencer contacted the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. When Spencer showed Sheriff’s Detective Gary Deckard where she had seen the stopped vehicle, he told her it was the same general area where the body was found. Stewart had been released from the Deuel Vocational Institute at Tracy four days before his death. Stewart had a reputation for robbing drug dealers of cash and drugs. After his release, he had frequented Del Rio Mobile Home Park in Modesto, also known as Butler’s Camp. Butler’s Camp consisted of a number of trailers and small cabins. Since early December 1988, defendant had been renting a cabin at Butler’s Camp. In January 1989, defendant’s cabin was the scene of much drug dealing. Ricky Black was one of several people charged with Stewart’s murder and was technically facing the death penalty. Black had also been charged with kidnapping Stewart. Black testified for the prosecution at defendant’s trial under a grant of immunity and on the assumption the charges concerning Stewart, as well as drug sale charges pending against him, would be dismissed. He acknowledged that if his role in Stewart’s murder was greater than he had previously admitted, his deal with the prosecution was off. Black admitted he was a heroin addict with prior felony convictions for grand theft, petty theft with a prior, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Black testified he knew both defendant and Stewart and had purchased drugs at defendant’s cabin, usually from someone other than defendant. On the night of Stewart’s murder, Black had been with Stewart in Butler’s Camp in the cabin of Lawrence Woodcock. Black had just left Woodcock’s cabin and was walking down a back street about half a block from defendant’s cabin when Brian Seaboum, who Black indicated had some mental problems, drove up in a brown car. Black had previously seen Seaboum with guns, although he did not observe a gun on this occasion. Seaboum asked Black if he knew Stewart and knew where he was. Seaboum told Black he wanted to kill Stewart and needed his help. Knowing Stewart was still in Woodcock’s cabin, Black offered to lure him out by telling him Seaboum wanted to do a drag robbery. Black went to Woodcock’s cabin and returned to Seaboum’s car with Stewart. He introduced the two men and got into Seaboum’s car along with Stewart. Seaboum drove a short distance to a small store, where Black got out despite Seaboum’s asking him to stay. That was the last time Black saw Stewart. Black learned of Stewart’s death the next day. When he talked with Seaboum after the crime, Seaboum told him he had killed Stewart and buried the murder weapon. Black testified he did not know of anyone who “had anything else to do with this.” After Stewart’s murder, Black was in possession of a knife Stewart had stolen from Freddie Salas; Black testified Stewart had given him the knife. A few days before the murder, probably on Thursday, January 19, 1989, Black had entered defendant’s cabin just as Stewart was finishing robbing and assaulting defendant. He observed the two men fighting and Stewart running out the cabin door, pursued by defendant. When defendant returned to the cabin, he began to fight with Black, apparently believing he had been with Stewart. Afterward, Black tried to convince defendant he had had nothing to do with the robbery. Treva Coonce testified for the prosecution at defendant’s May 12, 1989, preliminary hearing and at his trial, under a grant of immunity. She also testified at Brian Seaboum’s preliminary hearing and gave several interviews, on April 14, 1989, and subsequently, to Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Detective Gary Deckard. Coonce’s various statements often contradicted each other, and she repudiated her prior statements and testimony on a number of occasions. Coonce was a heroin addict who was in jail, and going through withdrawal at the time she made her April 14 statement to Detective Deckard. Despite her grant of immunity, at defendant’s trial Coonce continued to repudiate her earlier statements implicating defendant and Seaboum. Consequently, most of the incriminating evidence elicited from Coonce during defendant’s trial came in the form of readings from her May 12 preliminary hearing testimony and statements made to Deckard on April 14 and subsequently. The following account is derived from Coonce’s trial and preliminary hearing testimony and from the testimony of Detective Deckard. For a week to 10 days in early January 1989, Treva Coonce stayed in defendant’s cabin at Butler’s Camp. She left after an argument with defendant, eventually moving into the trailer next door. Coonce was the girlfriend of Steven Mendonca, who was also charged with Stewart’s murder and ultimately pleaded guilty to second degree murder. Coonce had also known Stewart for several years. About a week before Stewart’s murder, while in her trailer next to defendant’s cabin, Coonce overheard a fight between defendant and Ricky Black. Afterward, defendant and Black sat down on the porch together. Coonce did not see Stewart at defendant’s cabin and did not recall seeing defendant braised or cut after the fight. Coonce told Detective Deckard, and testified at defendant’s May 12 preliminary hearing, that a few days after the robbery and assault on defendant she was present in defendant’s cabin with Mendonca, Seaboum, defendant, Tom Bourchier and other people she could no longer recall. Defendant was “fuming” over the robbery and said he would “do anything to have [Stewart] taken care of.” Defendant said he “would pay to have that mother fucker killed.” Seabourn responded that they might “work something out.” Coonce thought this was all “just big talking.” Several business transactions were going on in the cabin at the time, and Coonce overheard discussion about an exchange of several thousand dollars related either to killing Stewart or to drug sales. Coonce saw defendant give money to Seabourn, perhaps more than $1,000 but less than $5,000, but could not say it was for killing Stewart. Coonce told Detective Deckard that defendant had paid Seabourn $3,000 and an ounce of cocaine. She also told Deckard that Bourchier had given Seabourn the money. Coonce testified she had seen defendant with a .357 gun, that she always saw Seabourn with a gun, she sometimes saw Bourchier with a gun, but she never saw Mendonca with a gun. On a number of occasions she saw Seabourn with thousands of dollars, but she could not say it was compensation for killing Stewart. On the night of January 22, 1989, Coonce was in her trailer when Seabourn and Mendonca returned from killing Stewart. Coonce went outside and saw defendant direct Bourchier to give Seabourn $2,000. About 5:00 a.m. on the morning after the murder, Mendonca returned to Coonce’s trailer and spoke with her. He had an “eight-ball” of heroin that he said he had found between the trailer and defendant’s cabin. Mendonca told Coonce that after the murder he and Seabourn had taken the car used in the murder to a car wash to clean out blood and other matter. Some weeks after the killing, Mendonca told Coonce the gun used to kill Stewart had been buried or thrown into water. Bourchier also told Coonce the gun had been buried. At defendant’s trial, Coonce repudiated her prior statements and testimony incriminating defendant and others. She denied being present in defendant’s cabin and overhearing a discussion regarding killing Stewart. She denied seeing any exchange of money between defendant and Seabourn or Bourchier and Seabourn. At Seabourn’s preliminary hearing, Coonce repudiated most of her statements to Detective Deckard, saying she had made the statements in order to get out of jail. She also repudiated the testimony she gave at defendant’s May 12 preliminary hearing. At the present trial, Coonce testified she had lied at defendant’s preliminary hearing and that anything she previously had told police or testified to was based on hearsay. She denied telling Sharon Tripp, another Butler’s Camp associate, before Seabourn’s preliminary hearing, that she would lie at that proceeding. Following Seabourn’s preliminary hearing, Coonce suffered endocarditis and a stroke brought on by injecting heroin mixed with river water. She was interviewed in the hospital by Detective Deckard and told him she had lied at Seabourn’s preliminary hearing out of loyalty. The day before Coonce testified at defendant’s May 12 preliminary hearing, she wrote a letter to Mendonca, stating she knew nothing about Stewart’s murder, that she hated defendant and didn’t know what she would say at the hearing. Sharon Tripp testified she was staying at defendant’s cabin off and on around the time of the murder. She was acquainted with defendant, Seaboum, Mendonca, Coonce and Stewart. She had no felony convictions, but was using heroin in January 1989. On a Sunday morning in that month, she entered the cabin and saw defendant lying on a couch with scrapes on his hand and blood on his jacket. Defendant told her that the night before he had been robbed by Kenny Stewart and he would “like to kill the mother fucker.” He had a gun tucked into the front of his pants. At the time of Brian Seaboum’s arrest for the Stewart murder, a brown two-door Buick sedan was impounded from in front of Seaboum’s parents’ house. Upon starting the vehicle and letting the engine ran for approximately 10 minutes, Detective Deckard ascertained it had an oil leak. Deckard submitted samples of the fluid leaking from Seaboum’s car and of the oil found at the scene of the murder to the California Department of Justice for analysis, but examiners were unable to determine whether the two substances came from the same source. Deckard had Kay Spencer view the vehicle, including the illuminated brake lights and taillights; Spencer testified the vehicle was consistent in all respects with the one she had seen on Keyes Road on the night of January 22. A search of defendant’s cabin on January 24, 1989, yielded, among other items, a loaded Ruger .357 magnum pistol, a camouflage holster, and unexpended .357 magnum Federal Grant cartridges. Criminalist William Jerry Chisum of the California Department of Justice compared bullet fragments found in, on, or near Stewart with bullets fired from the .357 magnum pistol found in defendant’s cabin, concluding that the gun had fired the shot that killed Stewart. When shown the .357 magnum pistol found in defendant’s cabin in the course of the January 24 search, witness Charles Anderson identified it as the same weapon he had purchased from his son, also named Charles Anderson, in October or November 1988. Charles Anderson, Sr., had subsequently sold the gun to his son David in either November or December 1988. At the time he sold the gun to David, it had the same camouflage holster later found in defendant’s cabin. David Anderson (Anderson) testified he visited defendant’s cabin approximately six to eight times in mid-January 1989. Defendant was then in possession of large quantities of cocaine and heroin, which he sold to Anderson and others. On his first visit to defendant’s cabin, Anderson took along the chrome-plated .357 magnum Ruger pistol that he had bought from his father, Charles Anderson, showed it to defendant and discussed selling it to him. Defendant did not want to pay the $150 asking price, but wanted to trade drugs and money. Defendant, who bore signs of having been beaten, told Anderson he had been robbed. Anderson testified that, on his second visit to defendant’s cabin, his gun was stolen. He had parked his Dodge truck near the cabin, placed the gun under the front seat, and entered the cabin. The place was filled with people buying and using drugs. Thomas Bourchier walked up to Anderson and asked him what he wanted. Anderson replied he didn’t know yet. A prostitute then approached Anderson and tried to make a “date” with him. Thereafter, Anderson discovered that the gun, some tools and a box of shells were missing; he surmised the woman had purposely distracted him so someone could steal his gun. He reported the theft of the gun to Detective Jack Smith of the Modesto Police Department. The next day, Anderson returned to Butler’s Camp to gather information for Detective Smith, who was paying him in gas money and for whom he had provided information in the past. Anderson entered defendant’s cabin and there encountered defendant, who was selling drugs, Bourchier, Seaboum and several other people. Coonce and Mendonca soon arrived. Defendant had been badly beaten—he had a black eye, a cut on his lower lip, and a cut across his right knuckle, and he walked with a limp. When Anderson asked what had happened, defendant said he had been beaten up and robbed, that his assailant had taken all his money and drugs, and he was almost out of business. When Anderson asked defendant if he knew who had done it, defendant did not speak directly to him, but mentioned the name “Stewart.” Defendant stated he had things taken care of and that “[i]f the son of a bitch comes back he’s a dead mother-fucker.” Bourchier, at defendant’s direction, cleared the cabin of everyone but people doing business. Bourchier asked Anderson what he wanted. Anderson told him he wanted “a dime of white” (cocaine) and “a dime of black” (heroin). Bourchier told him to sit at the kitchen table and wait. Anderson complied. Sitting at the table, Anderson faced the bathroom. Defendant, who had Anderson’s gun holster down the front of his pants, containing a chrome gun that Anderson believed was his, went into the bathroom with Coonce and Mendonca. The bathroom door was open about an inch and a half. Anderson could see Coonce, but not defendant or Mendonca. Anderson heard the three talk of a man having been beaten up for drugs and having lost $2,500 and a considerable amount of drugs. From inside the bathroom, Anderson heard defendant say, “I got this. I want this done. I got the means to get it done.” Defendant also said, “I can give you some tonight, but. . . you won’t get the rest until it is done, and I want my property back.” Anderson testified Mendonca said, “We know right where he is. I can get the job done.” Anderson saw a hand go into a woman’s purse and an object he believed was his gun. When the three emerged from the bathroom, Coonce was carrying a purse and neither defendant nor Mendonca had the gun. Mendonca said he wanted some drugs, he was going to take off, it would be fast, and it would be that night. Defendant packaged some cocaine in a sandwich bag. When Coonce asked for some “black,” defendant took approximately a quarter-ounce of heroin out of his pocket, cut off a quarter-gram piece, and gave the drugs to Coonce and Mendonca. Defendant told them, “If you want the rest you have got to get the job done and I want my property back.” Coonce and Mendonca then left the cabin. Defendant turned to Anderson and asked him what he wanted. Anderson replied, “I want a dime of white and a dime of black.” Thereafter, Anderson left the cabin. On cross-examination, Anderson testified he was an ex-heroin addict and was not currently using heroin; he had previously acted as a paid police informant. 2. Defense evidence Alice Seaboum, Brian Seaboum’s mother, testified to the effect that Seaboum was at her house at the time Stewart was murdered. Her friend, Martha Pearson, and Brian’s sister, Charlotte Navarro, testified similarly. Criminalist Sara Yoshida testified she had examined Alice Seaboum’s car for bloodstains and found no evidence relating to Stewart’s murder. As noted above {ante, at p. 113), defendant waived his right to the assistance of counsel and represented himself at trial. Defendant called Clinical Psychologist Philip Trompetter in order, as he said in open court in the presence of the jury, “to establish that there is a motive for somebody placing that bullet jacket on the head of Kenny Stewart.[] And that motive is that, that while, that I wish the future to decide that there was in the past a Beast in Revelations[] and thereby in this time of, in modem times in this time of mechanizations, not lose their faith.” Defendant further explained: “[M]y theory is that, that someone who would try to do this could make others extremely angry, including members of this jury, enough to try to kill me. My attempt is to show through a number of gentlemen of his qualifications that while they find me to be sane, on the other hand, it is their theory that anyone who tries to do this is insane, and I have succeeded in walking such a tight rope. It is my hope to show this jury that somebody who would successfully walk such a tight rope might well invoke others to try to frame him. It is my defense why I, I have a right to try to establish a motive for somebody placing that bullet jacket on the head of Kenny Stewart.” Dr. Trompetter testified on direct examination, based on his prior interviews with defendant: “It was my view when you talked about issues such as the Beast that you were saying as a youngster, as an early teen you had decided that you were going to emulate the Beast from Revelations. That was somewhat of a life goal.” Dr. Trompetter elaborated: “And it was your view that somehow by emulating the Beast in your life time that that would bring into being a situation whereby you would be able to decide whether in fact a God existed.” Defendant interposed that Dr. Trompetter had not understood what he was trying to say and asked the witness whether he had formed an opinion as to whether defendant had been insane in the past. The trial court sustained the prosecutor’s objection on grounds of relevancy, and defendant asked no further questions of Dr. Trompetter. The parties stipulated that John Maurer, M.D., examined defendant on February 3, 1978, and Robert Slater, M.D., examined defendant on July 22, 1982. Dr. Maurer and Dr. Slater, both licensed psychiatrists, found defendant legally sane “notwithstanding that [defendant] discussed with [them] the subject of the Beast in Revelations” and that defendant “stated that he was actively trying to be known as the Beast in Revelations.” Penalty phase 1. Prosecution evidence The prosecution presented evidence that defendant previously had suffered felony convictions for assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury, escape, possession of a completed check with the intent to defraud, burglary, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and perjury. Additionally, the prosecution presented evidence of four instances in which defendant had engaged in assaultive conduct or had threatened violence. Tracy Smith testified that, on the evening of August 19, 1986, he went to Gary’s Drive-In to visit his then wife, who was working there. After she told him about a man who had been “hanging around” the restaurant, Smith went outside to approach the man, later identified as defendant, who was sitting in a car. Smith asked him what he was doing there. Defendant told him to “Get away,” showed him a knife, and said, “I’ll cut you.” The knife appeared to be a kitchen knife approximately 10 inches long. Smith returned to the restaurant, told his wife and her coworkers that defendant had threatened him, and phoned the police. Smith went back outside and again asked defendant what he was doing there; defendant threatened him again with the knife. Deputy Sheriff Allen Wayne Barcelona was called to the scene to investigate. Defendant, who was wearing towels tied onto his arms and around his crotch, explained he was waiting near the pay phone for a call about a job and that the knife and towels were for protection inasmuch as, a few days earlier, he had been attacked by persons wielding baseball bats. On September 12, 1986, at a Savemart store on Paradise Road in Modesto, defendant refused store employees’ requests to leave. Defendant had previously been warned not to enter the store because he had misused food stamps by buying small items, such as candy, and collecting the change. Savemart employee Robert Bowling warned defendant the police would be called if he did not depart. When defendant refused to leave, Bowling handcuffed him, called the police, and escorted defendant to an office. Defendant attempted to escape, trying to kick Bowling in the groin and ultimately kicking him in the face. When police arrived, Savemart employees turned defendant over to them. On September 15, 1987, defendant was living at 1346 Harris in Stanislaus County. Michael Harris lived at 1347 Harris, two duplexes down from defendant. On that date, Harris was working on the fence separating his backyard from defendant’s. A 10-foot section of the fence was down, allowing access to both yards. Harris’s three-year-old son was playing with a little girl who lived next door to defendant; the children played back and forth in both yards. Defendant came out of his house and kicked the little boy in the side and the leg. The child fell down and cried. When Harris and his friend, Danny Wisner, went to the front of defendant’s house to discuss the matter with him, defendant told Harris to keep his son out of his yard or he would do it again, and made a comment to the effect that he wanted the child to come in and “suck his dick” or asking whether Harris was teaching his son to “go around sucking guys’ penises.” During the conversation, defendant became angry and hit Wisner in the left eye with his fist. Harris and Wisner reported the incident to the sheriff’s department and pressed charges against defendant. About a week later, after defendant had been released from custody, he threatened Harris and Wisner with a gun over the fence between the yards, saying they should not have done what they did to him and, to Harris, “You better watch your son very, very carefully, and you better watch your family and your birds” (Harris raised pigeons in his yard). Thereafter, Harris and Wisner were fearful of testifying against defendant. On March 23, 1989, defendant was in custody in the Stanislaus County Jail in cell No. X-12 on X-tier, which housed inmates charged with murder or other assaultive conduct. At that time, Brian Seaboum was housed at the other end of the same tier. Around 10:00 a.m. that day, Deputy Sheriff Daniel Chichester, who was assigned to the jail as a custodial officer, was working on X-tier doing the weekly cell search. On X-tier, an inmate whose cell was about to be searched would be removed and secured in the shower area, while two officers would search the cell, issue the inmate new bedding and clothing, and remove any contraband and weapons. When the search of Seaboum’s cell was completed on that date, he was directed to come out of the shower and return to his cell. Instead of complying, Seaboum proceeded down the hallway to where Chichester was standing, approximately in front of defendant’s cell, and hit Chichester under the jaw. Defendant was inside his cell. As Seaboum and Chichester exchanged blows, someone reached out and grabbed Chichester’s rib cage and pulled him backward against the X-12 cell bars, striking his head. Chichester blacked out and was taken by ambulance to Scenic General Hospital, where he spent seven to eight days, two and a half to three of them in the intensive care unit. He had suffered a skull fracture and received 13 stitches to close head wounds. As of the time of trial, seven months after the incident, Chichester had not yet returned to work. He continued to suffer pain, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing in his ears, and he faced possible neck surgery. 2. Defense evidence Defendant called several Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies to testify regarding their observations during the assault on Chichester in an effort to show that he had not been involved. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Officer Richard Wagner was working on X-tier at the time the fight empted between Chichester and Seaboum. Wagner immediately went to Chichester’s aid. As Wagner attempted to pull Seaboum off Chichester, Seaboum punched Wagner in the right eye, causing an injury that later required surgical repair. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Officer Darren Gharat served as liaison officer with Chichester and Wagner that morning on X-tier. When Gharat saw Seaboum strike the first blow at Chichester, he radioed for help, secured the crash gate and finally secured the floor. Neither Wagner nor Gharat saw defendant reach out of his cell to grab Chichester. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Myron Larson investigated Seaboum’s assault on Chichester. Larson found blood in front of and on the bars of cell No. X-13, but none in front of or on the bars of cell No. X-12, defendant’s cell. Larson found no direct evidence that defendant had pulled Chichester into the bars of cell No. X-12, but concluded defendant had done so, based on Chichester’s description of events and the mark of a handprint on Chichester’s right lower rib cage. According to Larson, if Chichester was fighting with Seaboum in front of cell No. X-12, the inmates in cell Nos. X-ll and X-13 would have been unable to make the handprint on Chichester’s body. Defendant presented the testimony of another Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputy to the effect that investigation had shown that defendant could not have made threatening phone calls, as reported by Michael Harris. Defendant called Michael Harris and Danny Wisner to testify further regarding the incident involving Harris’s son, suggesting at various points that his kicking the boy was an appropriate response to the boy’s having “felt [his] dick.” Defendant also asked Harris and Wisner whether they were homosexuals and whether they lived together. Defendant’s father, Clyde Merle Lawley, testified on his behalf. Mr. Lawley was an inventor and the proprietor of a cattle food manufacturing business in Modesto. The Lawley family had moved to California from Oklahoma in 1950, when defendant was seven years old. Defendant was very intelligent but, in his father’s view, extremely sick mentally, believing people were out to get him. He had never been able to hold a job for more than a few months. The family had tried to provide defendant appropriate guidance and financial assistance, including on one occasion buying him a car that he drove to Florida and abandoned in a swamp. Clyde Lawley had had many conversations over the years with defendant on such subjects as the colonization of outer space, cryogenics, history, religion, military science, and technology. Defendant and his father had an ongoing difference of opinion concerning defendant’s attempt to go down in history as the Beast in Revelations; Clyde Lawley viewed this ambition as “absolutely” crazy. He wished defendant could begin facing reality rather than living in his imagination and fantasies. Paul S. D. Berg, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist, testified he met with defendant on three occasions for a total of approximately eight to 10 hours. He conducted a number of standard psychological tests on defendant during these meetings, including the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices, the Bender-Gestalt and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Defendant’s intelligence quotient was 128, in the 97th percentile. Dr. Berg also reviewed correspondence from defendant’s family, records from Atascadero State Hospital, a report by Dr. Philip Trompetter, the testimony of defendant’s father, and other matters. Dr. Berg testified defendant had been committed to Atascadero State Hospital from 1978 to 1982 as a result of an incident in which he pointed a shotgun at a deputy sheriff in Sonora. Defendant was evaluated at that time by Drs. Maurer and Powelson, both of whom diagnosed him as paranoid schizophrenic. (Dr. Powelson had found defendant legally insane, while Dr. Maurer disagreed.) Defendant was treated briefly with Haldol, an antipsychotic medication, while at Atascadero. He seemed to benefit from the programs in which he participated, at least to the extent he no longer discussed his stranger ideas, but he remained a loner with no close relationships to others. Dr. Berg diagnosed defendant as suffering from paranoid disorder, also known as delusional disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. He defined delusional disorder as “an illness of which the main quality is that [the affected person] develop[s] either one idea or a set of ideas . . . that are based on delusions and that those delusions influence how they think about everything, what they do, how they live.” A delusion is a fixed, false idea. Defendant’s delusion was his “idea about being or possibly being the Beast of Revelations.” Defendant also had “very strong convictions about homosexuality, and homosexuals” and about Black people. Illustrative of defendant’s antisocial personality disorder, Dr. Berg testified, were his extensive drug use and his long history of criminal behavior and convictions. Dr. Berg opined that defendant understood it is criminally wrong to shoot someone, but he was not always capable of conforming his conduct to the requirements of the law. Analysis I. Competency to stand trial A. Factual background Defendant contends a variety of errors in the proceedings deprived him of a meaningful hearing on his competency to stand trial and thus of his state and federal constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial. The factual background necessary for an understanding of defendant’s appellate claims follows. 1. Events leading to institution of competency proceedings Defendant’s case was set for trial before Judge Charles V. Stone on July 17, 1989. That morning, defendant’s retained counsel, Ernest Kinney, reported that a disagreement had arisen concerning defendant’s desire to waive a jury trial. Judge Stone advised defendant that he did not have a constitutional right to a nonjury trial, that counsel had the right to control the tactics and strategy in the case, and that counsel did not want to waive a jury trial. Defendant informed Judge Stone that he disagreed with counsel over the type of jury to select: defendant did not want transvestites on the jury. Defendant told Judge Stone that all females in pants and men in dresses were transvestites. Mr. Kinney said that, although he had agreed to take the case on a no-time-waiver basis, the issue of waiving a jury had come up only recently. Based on the facts of defendant’s case, Kinney concluded he would not waive a jury. Defendant retorted that Kinney was lying and that he had told Kinney at their first meeting that he wanted a court trial. Defendant noted he had been “slandering” women who wear pants for many years and hoped they knew it, and thus felt a female jury would be prejudicial to his case. Defendant subsequently clarified that women “are terrific jurors” and he had a problem only with transvestites. Judge Stone again advised defendant he could not waive a jury over counsel’s objection. Defendant then said: “So that leaves me in a case, I can fire my attorney and not have adequate representation or take a chance that I may not be getting adequate representation at this moment because I’ve told him that I don’t feel that he will get me a fair trial—I fear that he won’t get me a fair trial by [a] jury of my peers.” Judge Stone asked defendant what he wished to do. Defendant reiterated he wanted to waive the jury. Judge Stone asked, “Is there something else you want to say as far as being represented by Mr. Kinney is concerned?” Defendant responded: “I want a quick and speedy trial. I just got through telling you. I certainly cannot be prepared to handle this myself at the moment or I would certainly be willing to get rid of him. But I have zero preparation. I guess I have to go potluck then, but I object to my counsel, yes, sir.” Judge Stone then ordered that a panel of 75 jurors be brought to the courtroom for jury selection. That afternoon, outside the presence of the prospective jurors but with the prosecutor present, Kinney advised the court of another strategic dispute with defendant. Defendant wanted Kinney to subpoena “all the records” of California Department of Justice Criminalist William Jerry Chisum to determine whether Chisum had ever seen a bullet jacket separating from a bullet and remaining outside the wound. Defendant expressed disbelief that Chisum had ever seen a bullet separate from its casing and sought to impeach his testimony in that regard. When Kinney, who believed the effort would be a waste of time, refused to comply with defendant’s request, defendant became upset, called him a liar, and stated he had no recourse but to represent himself. Without resolving the latter question, the court continued to conduct voir dire for the rest of the day. The following morning, Kinney informed the court that defendant wished to represent himself, adding: “Because of the past mental situation of my client, being in Atascadero, because of his desire to have a court trial versus a jury trial, there has been a split in our theory and in our thinking and he does desire to go forward and represent himself. I would indicate to the court that based on his past record and some indications I have from Dr. Berg, there is a question in my mind whether he is competent to proceed to trial, and in particular, whether he is competent to stand as his own attorney. flQ I would urge the court under [section] 1368 to appoint a doctor to have that evaluated. If he is found competent, then, of course, the court following the appropriate law, I believe, he could be his own counsel. I would request a [section] 1368 [examination] based on what I’ve told the court at this time.” After another outburst by defendant, Judge Stone declared he entertained a doubt as to defendant’s competency to proceed to trial, suspended criminal proceedings, and appointed Clinical Psychologist Philip Trompetter to examine defendant. 2. Experts’ reports regarding defendant’s competency Dr. Trompetter interviewed defendant at the Stanislaus County Jail for a total of two and one-half hours on July 21 and 23, 1989. He also reviewed the records of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, defendant’s records from the Stanislaus County Mental Health Department, and defendant’s discharge summary from Atascadero State Hospital, and briefly contacted Detective Deckard of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. Based on information gathered from these sources, Dr. Trompetter wrote and submitted a report in which he concluded defendant was competent to stand trial. Dr. Trompetter noted defendant had reported two prior psychiatric hospitalizations: a March 1978 commitment to Atascadero State Hospital, following a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, from which defendant was discharged in 1982; and, in January 1985, a 72-hour involuntary hospitalization at the Stanislaus County Department of Mental Health Psychiatric Health Facility. Both institutions reported a diagnosis of schizophrenia, paranoid type, but Dr. Trompetter noted that the reports he reviewed did not clearly specify the basis for the diagnosis and that some of the information he received actually undermined such a diagnosis. In his July 21, 1989, examination of defendant, Dr. Trompetter found no clinical evidence of schizophrenia. Defendant did, however, demonstrate many paranoid beliefs, which may have contributed to the diagnoses of schizophrenia. Dr. Trompetter described defendant as “a pridefully independent person who seems highly insulated,” “very skeptical, cynical, and mistrustful of the motives of others, especially attorneys and women,” and as having “a tendency to magnify minor details into proofs of treachery.” Dr. Trompetter found defendant’s beliefs about women possibly delusional: Defendant “claims that many women are transvestites or lesbians, and he seems to believe that their presence on a jury would heighten the likelihood that he will be convicted. He claims to not know a sure-fire way of being able to identify those females that are so inclined and, thus, he is led to conclude that he should have a Court trial. He reports to believe that all women who are lesbians and transvestites also molest children. While he adds that he ‘may be wrong,’ he maintains the belief with some degree of intensity.” “Seemingly connected to [defendant’s] views regarding women,” Dr. Trompetter found, “are some of his religious beliefs. He claims to have decided as a youngster to emulate the beast from Revelation in an attempt to assist him in deciding whether there was truly a God.” Dr. Trompetter found it difficult to determine the extent to which defendant’s religious beliefs reflected delusional thinking, as opposed to some fundamentalist religious faith. In evaluating defendant’s understanding of the proceedings against him, Dr. Trompetter found “a very sophisticated awareness of the charges and their seriousness. He can accurately define the role of the judge, jury, district attorney, and defense attorney. He knows and can describe the purpose of a criminal proceeding and can define terms such as witness, testimony, and plea negotiation. He claims that he has no impairment in his memory that would preclude his ability to testify in his own behalf, if necessary. Similarly, he reports that he can assist in the cross-examination of prosecution witnesses if necessary. It is not necessarily predictable that he v/ould be a management problem in the Courtroom, any more than his history of explosive and assaultive behavior would suggest. His manner and attitude during this examiner’s evaluation indicates that he has the capacity to cooperate with defense counsel if he so chooses.” In assessing defendant’s preference for self-representation, Dr. Trompetter noted defendant acknowledged “running a risk by choosing to defend himself because of his lack of knowledge of the law, but seems willing to take this chance. While it does not appear to be a prudent decision, it is not motivated by a psychotic delusion.” Dr. Trompetter found less comprehensible defendant’s preference for a court trial over a jury trial, informed as it appeared to be both by his possibly delusional beliefs regarding women and by his rationally articulated, albeit possibly incorrect, belief that the prosecution’s evidence was unraveling and that a judge might more accurately than a jury assess a weak prosecution case. Dr. Trompetter stated: “The degree to which these findings compromise his competency to assist in his own defense is returned to the Court.” At defense counsel’s request, licensed Psychologist Paul S. D. Berg, Ph.D., interviewed defendant for a substantial part of two days, on July 12 and 15, 1989, and evaluated records provided by counsel. Dr. Berg’s letter-report to counsel diagnosed defendant as paranoid schizophrenic and concluded he was incompetent to stand trial. Dr. Berg found defendant’s initial presentation to be that of a “somewhat phlegmatic, almost philosophical man, simply wrongfully accused but cynically and intellectually dealing with his feelings about that. [¶] An examination of his life, however, very quickly reveals that there is more than meets the eye, as seen, for example, in his earliest childhood experiences in which he developed as an alienated and schizoid-appearing individual and the onset of a specific delusional system by the time he was 12 years old, consistent with the rest of his life as a peripherally functioning and very marginal individual.” Dr. Berg found defendant to be “so preoccupied with his mission against homosexuals that it totally distorts his own considerations and judgments about the existence or selection of a jury trial and his ability to cooperate with any counsel that would try to even advise him on such matters.” Dr. Berg believed that “on some very real level [defendant] may also wish to be executed,” although he did not directly admit it. Dr. Berg also believed “there is an underlying program in his life or script, so to speak, in which he has fantasied himself to be a soldier, and that he believes that if he were to be executed, he would finally have achieved the kind of martyrdom that he cannot effect in any more conventional or somewhat less destructive way.” In addition to the diagnosis of schizophrenia, paranoid type, Dr. Berg noted the possibility of some secondary factors associated with an organic brain syndrome, which could not be confirmed due to defendant’s resistance to the necessary examinations. 3. Trial on competency On August 8, 1989, the competency hearing was held before Judge Frank S. Pierson. Dr. Trompetter’s report and Dr. Berg’s letter-report, summarized above, were received into evidence. Counsel waived the experts’ presence and the right to cross-examination, and proceeded to argument. Defense counsel argued Dr. Trompetter had not spent sufficient time with defendant to assemble a complete picture of him. Counsel argued further that defendant’s concerns regarding transvestites and lesbians prevented him from either assisting counsel or representing himself, urging the court to find him incompetent. The prosecutor argued, to the contrary, that Dr. Trompetter’s report demonstrated that defendant possessed a sophisticated understanding of the nature of the proceedings and had some rational basis for preferring a court trial. Defendant’s irrational beliefs concerning women and homosexuals, the prosecutor further argued, did not interfere with his understanding of the criminal process. The prosecutor pointed out that defendant was not an ignorant person and had often suggested lines of cross-examination to defense counsel and demonstrated knowledge of such subjects as ballistics. The prosecutor characterized the parties’ differences as centering on tactical choices, such as self-representation or representation by counsel and trial by jury or trial by the court, and argued in conclusion that defendant was capable of making “rational, albeit maybe somewhat distorted” tactical decisions. At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Pierson found defendant “capable of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him and . . . capable of assisting counsel in his defense.” B. Denial of due process resulting from lack of meaningful hearing on competency Defendant urges that his competency trial suffered from so many procedural flaws as to have deprived him of his state and federal due process rights and a fair trial. (U.S. Const., 5th & 14th Amends.; Cal. Const., art. I, §§ 7, 15.) Before addressing his specific claims of error, we review the basic legal principles governing competency to stand trial. A person cannot be tried or adjudged to punishment while mentally incompetent. (§ 1367, subd. (a).) A defendant is mentally incompetent if, as a result of a mental disorder or developmental disability, he or she is unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings or to assist counsel in the conduct of a defense in a rational manner. (Ibid.) When the accused presents substantial evidence of incompetence, due process requires that the trial court conduct a full competency hearing. (People v. Stanley (1995) 10 Cal.4th 764, 804 [42 Cal.Rptr.2d 543, 897 P.2d 481]; Pate v. Robinson (1966) 383 U.S. 375, 377 [86 S.Ct. 836, 837-838, 15 L.Ed.2d 815].) “Evidence is ‘substantial’ if it raises a reasonable doubt about the defendant’s competence to stand trial.” (People v. Danielson (1992) 3 Cal.4th 691, 726 [13 Cal.Rptr.2d 1, 838 P.2d 729], overruled on other grounds in Price v. Superior Court (2001) 25 Cal.4th 1046, 1069, fn. 13 [108 Cal.Rptr.2d 409, 25 P.3d 618].) Although it arises in the context of a criminal trial, a competency hearing is a special proceeding, governed generally by the rules applicable to civil proceedings. (People v. Skeirik (1991) 229 Cal.App.3d 444, 455 [280 Cal.Rptr. 175].) The right to a jury determination of competency is statutory, however, not constitutional; thus, counsel may effectively waive it without a personal waiver from the defendant. (People v. Master son (1994) 8 Cal.4th 965, 969, 972 [35 Cal.Rptr.2d 679, 884 P.2d 136]; see § 1369.) A defendant is presumed competent unless the contrary is proven by a preponderance of the evidence. (§ 1369, subd. (f); People v. Medina (1990) 51 Cal.3d 870, 881-886 [274 Cal.Rptr. 849, 799 P.2d 1282].) On appeal, the reviewing court determines whether substantial evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, supports the trial court’s finding. (People v. Marshall (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1, 31 [61 Cal.Rptr.2d 84, 931 P.2d 262].) “Evidence is substantial if it is reasonable, credible and of solid value.” (Ibid.) Defendant contends the procedure followed in this case, i.e., submission of two written reports reaching opposite conclusions, did not constitute the full evidentiary hearing demanded by due process. Instead, he urges, the testimony of Dr. Trompetter and Dr. Berg should have been presented, subject to cross-examination by opposing counsel, along with documentary evidence of his past admissions to psychiatric facilities. A third expert’s opinion also should have been presented as a “tie-breaker,” defendant argues. We disagree. In People v. McPeters (1992) 2 Cal.4th 1148 [9 Cal.Rptr.2d 834, 832 P.2d 146] (McPeters), rejecting a similar claim where the trial court had employed a similar procedure in determining the defendant’s competency, we noted: “Although defendant’s counsel, for understandable reasons, elected to waive certain available incidents of the hearing procedure, i.e., the right to jury trial and the rights to present oral testimony and to confront and cross-examine witnesses, defendant presented evidence and received an independent judicial determination of his competence to stand trial based on the stipulated record.” (Id. at p. 1169.) Defendant attempts to distinguish McPeters on the basis that the trial court in that case appointed a third expert when the two previously appointed did not agree. (McPeters, supra, 2 Cal.4th at p. 1168.) In McPeters, however, one of the experts apparently was unable to reach a conclusion as to the defendant’s competency. (Ibid. [“Dr. Davis observed defendant was hostile and uncooperative and expressed the view he was either feigning mental illness or suffering from a psychosis of undetermined etiology”].) Here, in contrast, both Dr. Trompetter and Dr. Berg made findings and reached conclusions, albeit opposing ones, concerning defendant’s competency. Contrary to defendant’s argument, the trial court properly could assess the weight and persuasiveness of those findings and conclusions without having to resort to a third expert. “ ‘The chief value of an expert’s testimony in this field, as in all other fields, rests upon the material from which his opinion is fashioned and the reasoning by which he progresses from his material to his conclusion; ... it does not he in his mere expression of conclusion.’ (Italics added.) [Citation.] In short, ‘Expert evidence is really an argument of an expert to the court, and is valuable only in regard to the proof of the facts and the validity of the reasons advanced for the conclusions.’ (Italics added.) [Citations.]” (People v. Bassett (1968) 69 Cal.2d 122, 141 [70 Cal.Rptr. 193, 443 P.2d 777].) Defendant further contends that section 1369, subdivision (a) compelled the appointment of a second expert. In pertinent part, that statute provides: “In any case where the defendant or the defendant’s counsel informs the court that the defendant is not seeking a finding of mental incompetence, the court shall appoint two” mental health experts. (Ibid., italics added.) While implicitly acknowledging that neither he nor his counsel ever expressly so informed the court, defendant argues Judge Stone in fact was informed defendant was not seeking a finding of incompetence by virtue of his insistence on a court trial, a new lawyer, or the right to proceed in propria persona. Putting aside the absence from the record of any explicit acknowledgment by Judge Stone that he knew defendant was not seeking a finding of incompetence, we believe defendant misreads the statute. Section 1369, subdivision (a) plainly requires “defendant or the defendant’s counsel” to “inform[] the court” that the defense is not seeking a finding of incompetence in order to trigger the required appointment of a second mental health expert. Defendant cites no case authority supporting his interpretation of the statute. Defendant further contends the competency hearing should have been held before Judge Stone, who had observed defendant in court, heard his explanation of why he did not want lesbians and transvestites on his jury, and declared a doubt regarding bis competency. Defendant acknowledges we have held that a competency hearing need not be held before the judge who initiated the proceeding by declaring a doubt. (People v. Hill (1967) 67 Cal.2d 105, 113, fn. 2 [60 Cal.Rptr. 234, 429 P.2d 586].) Nevertheless, he urges that, under the totality of the circumstances of the present case, holding the competency hearing before Judge Pierson denied him due process because only Judge Stone had the “experiential perspective” to appreciate the findings of Dr. Trompetter and Dr. Berg. We disagree. Competency proceedings commonly are assigned for hearing to a judge different from the one who initiated them by declaring a doubt (see Waldon v. Superior Court (1987) 196 Cal.App.3d 809, 813 [241 Cal.Rptr. 123]), and we are confident in the ability of our state’s trial judges to preside over such hearings whether or not they have some prior personal experience of a defendant’s in-court behavior. Defendant also contends he had a liberty interest, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the statutory right to jury trial on the question of his competency and thus that the judgment must be reversed in the absence of a knowing, intelligent and voluntary waiver thereof. (See Hicks v. Oklahoma (1980) 447 U.S. 343, 346-347 [100 S.Ct. 2227, 2229-2230, 65 L.Ed.2d 175].) In People v. Masterson, supra, 8 Cal.4th at page 972, however, we rejected the argument that the trial court was required to advise the defendant of his right to a jury determination of his competency, given the lack of a constitutional foundation for the right. From that premise it follows the trial court here did not err in failing to secure defendant’s waiver, of a jury. Defendant attempts to distinguish People v. Masterson on the basis that the defendant’s attorney in that case stipulated to an 11-person jury, while in this case the question evidently was not raised on the record. We find the distinction unpersuasive and will not presume defendant’s attorney was unaware of the availability of a jury. (Cf. Strickland v. Washington, supra, 466 U.S. at p. 689 [104 S.Ct. at p. 2065]; People v. Hart (1999) 20 Cal.4th 546, 624-625 [85 Cal.Rptr.2d 132, 976 P.2d 683]; People v. Anderson (1979) 97 Cal.App.3d 419, 426 [158 Cal.Rptr. 727].) Defendant contends Judge Pierson’s reliance on Dr. Trompetter’s report, in finding defendant competent, violated due process in that the report was “ambiguous” on the question whether defendant could rationally assist defense counsel. Defendant further asserts Dr. Trompetter’s conclusion that he was competent was inconsistent with findings from his examination and thus required inquiry and clarification from the court. Because defendant’s contentions, at bottom, read certain remarks contained in Dr. Trompetter’s report out of context, we disagree. As the Attorney General observes, Dr. Trompetter’s reservation concerning defendant’s ability to assist defense counsel rationally was limited to the matter of defendant’s preference for a court trial over a jury trial, which Dr. Trompetter found derived from a mixture of rational tactical reasons and paranoid beliefs regarding lesbians and transvestites. The latter, Dr. Trompetter found, “interfer[ed]” with defendant’s ability rationally to choose the better alternative, but Dr. Trompetter clearly did not conclude defendant was incapable of rationally assisting defense counsel. To the contrary, he found that defendant’s manner and attitude during the evaluation indicated he had “the capacity to cooperate with defense counsel if he so cho[se].” As noted, Dr. Trompetter found defendant possessed a sophisticated understanding of the charges and their seriousness and of the roles of court and counsel; the content of his thinking contained nothing bizarre or grossly illogical; his intelligence was above average and he could concentrate and attend without difficulty; and he currently showed none of the symptoms of schizophrenia. In sum, Dr. Trompetter’s findings supported his conclusion that defendant was competent, and, contrary to defendant’s contention, the length of his interviews with defendant (a total of two and one-half hours) does not undermine the validity of his findings. (See People v. Stanley, supra, 10 Cal.4th at pp. 811-812 [competency evidence of two medical experts who each spent “about one hour” with defendant deemed sufficient].) C. Claimed error in trial court’s finding of competency Defendant contends, based on the claims of error urged in the preceding part, that Judge Pierson’s finding of competency was not founded on substantial evidence. In the preceding part, we rejected those claims of error, as well as defendant’s assertion that Dr. Trompetter’s opinion was fatally ambiguous and entitled to little weight; to rehearse the substance of that opinion is unnecessary. We therefore reject defendant’s claim that Judge Pierson erred in finding him competent. D. Denial of effective assistance of counsel at competency hearing Defendant argues trial counsel Kinney rendered ineffective assistance, in violation of state and federal constitutional guarantees (U.S. Const., 6th & 14th Amends.; Cal. Const., art. I, § 14), during the competency hearing in six respects. First, he claims counsel should have recognized that under section 1369 two experts should have been appointed to evaluate defendant’s competency. Second, he claims counsel should have objected to Judge Pierson’s presiding over the hearing, rather than Judge Stone. Third, he contends counsel should have insisted on having the matter tried before a jury. Fourth, even without a jury, defendant contends counsel should have insisted on a full evidentiary hearing that, at a minimum, would have included examination of Dr. Trompetter and Dr. Berg and the introduction of the extensive documentary history of defendant’s mental illness. Fifth, given the contradictory conclusions of Dr. Trompetter and Dr. Berg, defendant contends counsel should have insisted that a second expert be appointed to evaluate defendant. Sixth, defendant contends counsel should have sought dismissal of the information because defendant was not competent at the preliminary hearing. Even assuming for argument’s sake that a competent attorney would have taken the actions defendant suggests, he fails to meet his burden of establishing, as a demonstrable reality, the prejudice requisite to a meritorious claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. (See People v. Williams (1988) 44 Cal.3d 883, 937 [245 Cal.Rptr. 336, 751 P.2d 395].) “[A] court need not determine whether counsel’s performance was deficient before examining the prejudice suffered by the defendant as a result of the alleged deficiencies.” (Strickland v. Washington, supra, 466 U.S. at p. 697 [104 S.Ct. at p. 2069].) On this record, which amply supports the determination defendant was competent to stand trial, we cannot say a more favorable outcome was reasonably probable had counsel sought the appointment of a second expert, insisted on a jury trial, moved to have Judge Stone preside over the competency hearing, demanded a fuller evidentiary hearing, or moved to dismiss the information. E. Trial court’s subsequent failure during guilt and penalty phases to declare a doubt regarding defendant’s competency When, at any time prior to judgmen