Ball v. State, CR
| Decision Date | 21 February 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. CR,CR |
| Citation | 646 S.W.2d 693,278 Ark. 423 |
| Parties | Jasper BALL, Appellant, v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. 82-147. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
David L. Gibbons, Ozark, for appellant.
Steve Clark, Atty. Gen. by William C. Mann, III, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
This is an appeal from a conviction by the Madison County Circuit Court wherein the appellant was convicted of burglary and theft of property as well as being an habitual offender.
We are presented with only one argument on appeal. Appellant contends that the court failed to apply the provisions of Ark.Stat.Ann. § 41-605 (Repl.1977), relating to psychiatric examination of a defendant, to the facts of the present case. We feel that the court substantially complied with the provisions of this statute and therefore will not reverse the decision of the trial court.
The facts of the case are not in dispute and will therefore not be set out in this opinion. The single issue is the fitness of the appellant to stand trial. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 41-605 provides that when there is reason to doubt the fitness of the accused to proceed, the court shall enter an order directing that the accused be examined by a local psychiatrist or committed to the state hospital. Upon completion of such examination a report shall be submitted. The report is to follow Ark.Stat.Ann. § 41-605(4) which states:
The report of the examination shall include the following;
(a) a description of the nature of the examination;
(b) a diagnosis of the mental condition of the defendant;
(c) an opinion as to his capacity to understand the proceedings against him and to assist effectively in his own defense;
(d) an opinion as to the extent, if any, to which the capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was impaired at the time of the conduct alleged; and
(e) when directed by the court, an opinion as to the capacity of the defendant to have the culpable mental state that is required to establish an element of the offense charged.
The court ordered the appellant to be examined by Dr. Travis W. Jenkins of the Ozark Guidance Center. A report in the form of a two paragraph letter was sent to the trial judge. The letter states:
I have seen Mr. Ball in psychiatric evaluation and mental status examination. In my opinion he is competent to stand trial. There is no evidence to suggest that he is psychotic at the time of my interview with him. Mr. Ball does have a past history of alcoholism and being out of touch with reality when drinking. Therefore, at the time of his alleged offense, he may have been under the influence of alcohol and had disorder of thinking at that time, but in my opinion he was not psychotic to the degree of criminal irresponsibility.
Alcoholism is a definite complicating factor in this situation, and an alcohol treatment program might be of value. If further information is needed, please feel free to contact me.
The appellant objected to this report as being insufficient and not in compliance with the provisions of the statute. The trial court apparently agreed and wrote the doctor a letter asking him to furnish a supplemental report along the lines of the requirements of the statute. The appellant was not further examined by Dr. Jenkins but a supplemental report was submitted. The supplemental report stated: "... The letter further stated, as had the first one, that appellant was not psychotic to the degree of criminal irresponsibility. The final diagnosis was (1) alcohol abuse and (2) chronic schizophrenic disorder.
The appellant also attacked this supplemental report as being less than what is required by the statute in question. The trial court overruled the objection and conducted the trial. Dr. Jenkins appeared at the trial and testified that in his opinion the appellant suffered from mental disease which he described as "chronic schizophrenia with paranoia features." The doctor's opinion at the trial was to the effect that Ball did have a mental disease as above-stated. In reaching a decision on the issue presented upon appeal, however, we do not consider testimony presented at the trial.
The first requirement of the report by a psychiatrist is that it give a description of the nature of the examination. Dr....
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