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SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals panel questioned Tuesday whether a man who had a piece of his brain the size of an apple removed years before murdering a police officer should remain on California’s death row. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a judge to review whether condemned inmate James Richard Odle was competent to stand trial in Contra Costa County for the 1980 shooting death of Pinole officer Floyd Swartz and county resident Rena Aguilar. 

The panel is not questioning Odle’s sanity, but whether he understood the court proceedings and whether he was able to adequately assist his lawyers at trial. If he is found incompetent, California law demands he be confined permanently to a mental institution. 

“Where a petitioner has suffered massive trauma to his brain and subsequently exhibits psychotic behavior ... an inquiry into whether he possesses the mental acuity to participate in the proceedings is the reasonable and appropriate course of action,” Judge Alex Kozinski wrote. He added that, because there was no such hearing before Odle’s 1983 conviction, Odle was denied a fair trial. 

The appeals court, in overturning the California Supreme Court and a federal judge, noted that if a state court is unable to conduct a so-called competency hearing retroactively, the conviction may be nullified. 

Odle’s mental troubles started in 1973 when he suffered a blow to the head in a vehicle accident. A surgeon removed an apple-sized piece of his brain and left only a flap of skin covering the opening of his skull. It was later covered with a plastic plate after Odle complained his brain was pulsating beneath his skin. 

“You would think that having a lobotomy would trigger a reasonable suspicion that he might not be competent to stand trial,” said capital defender Frederick Baker of San Francisco. 

Family members and employers testified at trial that Odle, who was committed to mental institutions three times and attempted suicide, changed like “night and day” after the car accident. They said he became confused, talked slowly like a child and acted wildly. 

One relative testified that he often would get “a hot look in him like a junkyard dog.” Mental health experts testified that Odle, who acted violently under mental health care, may never have recovered from the auto accident. 

Dane Gillette, the state’s death penalty coordinator, did not return messages for comment. 

The case is Odle vs. Woodford, 99-99029.