Clonch v. Boles
Citation | 419 F.2d 393 |
Decision Date | 02 May 1969 |
Docket Number | No. 12759.,12759. |
Parties | Erna E. CLONCH, Appellant, v. Otto C. BOLES, Warden of the West Virginia State Penitentiary, Appellee. |
Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) |
J. Fred Queen, Elkins, W. Va., for appellant.
C. Donald Robertson, Atty. Gen., of W. Va., Charleston, W. Va., for appellee.
Before BRYAN, WINTER and CRAVEN, Circuit Judges.
Though his allegations in earlier proceedings were perhaps incomplete and inartfully framed, we note in the record what purports to be a copy of a contemporaneous newspaper account quoting the sentencing judge in part as follows:
The petitioner clearly raises here the question of his mental competence at the time of his plea. The newspaper account strongly suggests that the evidence raised a bona fide doubt as to the defendant's competence to stand trial. In such a situation due process requires an adequate hearing and determination of the issue. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 385, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 L.Ed.2d 815. On remand the district court will (1) determine whether the contention of incompetence to plead has ever been presented to a state court, (2) if it has not, suspend proceedings, retaining jurisdiction to permit relief to be sought in a state court and, (3) if it has, permit petitioner to amend his petition to allege incompetence to stand trial and, thereafter, grant an evidentiary hearing in the district court to determine if the state trial judge was under a duty sua sponte to determine the...
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United States v. Taylor, 13937.
...determination." 383 U.S. at 387, 86 S.Ct. 836.5 This court acknowledged a new trial as "the proper remedy" in Clonch v. Boles, 419 F.2d 393, 394 (4th Cir. 1969). Clearly "the difficulties of retrospective determination in Dusky are compounded when there has been no mental examination." Holl......
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McLaughlin v. Royster
...When an adequate showing has been made to raise the issue, the trial court should order a hearing sua sponte, Clonch v. Boles, 419 F.2d 393 (4th Cir. 1969), and the issue cannot be decided solely on the basis of reports of medical conclusions. Pate v. Robinson, supra, 386, 86 S.Ct. 836, 15 ......
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Roach v. Bennett
...competency could not be waived by state or federal prisoners. Of the cases following Robinson, known to this Court, only Clonch v. Boles, 419 F.2d 393 (4th Cir. 1969), involved a state prisoner who had waived trial. There the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial conditioned upon whether the......