Brian David Mitchell, the man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, apparently doesn't want to undergo a mental competency evaluation.
But he apparently has no choice because a judge has ruled that his personal records may be released to his attorneys without his consent.
Mitchell's lawyers filed a request last week in 3rd District Court requesting some of Mitchell's personal records, which would be needed for a mental evaluation to be completed. Normally, clients freely give those records to their attorneys.
Mitchell's defense team filed its request May 15, with the agreement of prosecutors, and 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton signed an order to release of records the same day.
The court's order states that "custodians of medical, mental health, educational, employment and government agency records" pertaining to Mitchell — including private and controlled records — should provide these documents to his attorneys.
The order also states that these records should be given to Mitchell's lawyers "without the need for consent of the defendant or further order of the court."
Mitchell's attorney, David Biggs, declined to comment on the matter Thursday.
Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, are accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart June 5, allegedly in an attempt to make Smart his second wife.
Both face a number of charges, including aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary and aggravated sexual assault.
Mental evaluations for both defendants were requested in March. They appeared in 3rd District Court in April for status hearings. At that time, the attorneys representing both Mitchell and Barzee said the evaluations were just starting.
The roll call hearings for both defendants were put on hold. No other court dates for the couple will be scheduled until the mental competency evaluations are complete. Those evaluations could still take another month.