French v. District Court, Division 9, In and For City and County of Denver, 20754

Decision Date05 August 1963
Docket NumberNo. 20754,20754
Citation153 Colo. 10,384 P.2d 268
PartiesDaniel Lee FRENCH, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT COURT, DIVISION 9, IN AND FOR the CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, State of Colorado, Honorable Mitchel B. Johns, Honorable Don D. Bowman, Judge, now presiding, and Bert Keating, District Attorney, Second Judicial District of the State of Colorado, Respondents.
CourtColorado Supreme Court

Walter L. Gerash, Denver, for petitioner.

Duke W. Dunbar, Atty. Gen., John E. Bush, Asst. Atty. Gen., Bert M. Keating, Dist. Atty., Gregory A. Mueller, Asst. Dist. Atty., Theodore Borrillo, Donald Spiegleman, Deputy Dist, Attys., Denver, for respondents.

MOORE, Justice.

We refer to petitioner above named as French, and to the respondents as respondents or as the trial court.

This is an original proceeding in this court by French, who filed his petition seeking relief by prohibition or, in the alternative, mandamus. It was alleged in the petition, inter alia, that:

'1. Petitioner was charged in the Second Judicial District of the State of Colorado in Criminal Action No. 49772, on May 21, 1962, with the crimes of burglary, robbery, and two counts of rape. These acts were alleged to occur on May 14, 1961.

'2. On June 7, 1962, in Criminal Action 48663, in the Second Judicial District of the State of Colorado, the petitioner was found to be insane at the time of the alleged commission of the offense and was forthwith committed to the Colorado State Hospital for the insane located in Pueblo, Colorado.

'3. Influenced by this finding, and asserting his constitutional right to do so, petitioner, in 1962, in Criminal Action No. 49772, entered the please of not guilty and 'not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the alleged commission of the offense' pursuant to C.R.S. 39-8-1, 1953 as amended.

'4. On November 21, 1962, upon oral motion of the District Attorney, respondent herein, the Honorable Mitchel B. Johns, Judge, also respondent herein, ordered that Petitioner's plea of 'not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the alleged commission of the crime' be stricken.

'5. This action is arbitrary without cause and contrary to constitutional and statutory rights as alleged. The facts therein are more fully shown by Exhibit 'A' appended hereto. Petitioner has a clear legal right to have the plea entered and respondents have a clear legal duty to accept the plea and set the matter down before a jury.

* * *

* * *

'10. Petitioner will suffer irreparable prejudice and injury if he is not allowed to assert the defense of 'not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the alleged commission of the crime' in accordance with the statutes and Constitution of the State of Colorado. Unless the writ of prohibition or mandamus is issued, petitioner is without a plain, speedy and adequate remedy at law to invoke or enforce his rights under the statutes of the State of Colorado and Constitution of Colorado and the Constitution of the United States.'

Rule to show cause issued and the respondents have filed an answer in which they pose the following question which they assert is raised thereby:

'Can a defendant who enters a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the alleged commission of the crime, but who thereafter wilfully refuses to cooperate and permit an examination of himself by physicians as prescribed by law, when said defendant is capable of cooperating in said examination, nevertheless maintain that plea and have a jury determination thereof?'

Facts raising this question are set forth in the answer, in substance, as follows:

After the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was entered, French was committed to the Colorado Psychopathic Hospital for observation as required by statute. The examining psychiatrists reported by letters addressed to the trial court that French refused to cooperate with them and that cooperation would be necessary to determine his mental condition. August 22, 1962, a hearing was had at which the court ordered that French withdraw his plea of insanity or cooperate with the examining psychiatrists, and he was ordered returned to the hospital for a thirty-day period for a psychiatric evaluation. The examiners notified the trial...

To continue reading

Request your trial
25 cases
  • Blaisdell v. Com.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
    • June 14, 1977
    ...varying approaches in other jurisdictions. See, e. g., United States v. Albright, 388 F.2d 719 (4th Cir. 1968); French v. District Court, 153 Colo. 10, 384 P.2d 268 (1963); People v. English, 31 Ill.2d 301, 201 N.E.2d 455 (1964); State v. Buzynski, 330 A.2d 422 (Me.1974); State v. Whitlow, ......
  • Pope v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit
    • March 14, 1967
    ...does not disentitle him from asserting a statutorily recognized special plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. French v. District Court, 153 Colo. 10, 384 P.2d 268 (1963). 2. Evidence of a military defendant's refusal to submit to a psychiatric examination is inadmissible. United States ......
  • Wade v. United States
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • March 30, 1970
    ...v. Corcoran, 132 U.S.App.D.C. 232, 407 F.2d 695 (1969); United States v. Albright, 388 F.2d 719 (4th Cir. 1968); French v. District Ct., 153 Colo. 10, 384 P.2d 268 (1963); Danforth, Death Knell for Pre-Trial Mental Examination? Privilege Against Self-Incrimination, 19 Rutgers L.Rev. 489 (19......
  • Lee v. County Court of Erie County
    • United States
    • New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
    • January 14, 1971
    ...4 Cir., 388 F.2d 719; contra, Hunt v. State, 248 Ala. 217, 27 So.2d 186; Hall v. State, 209 Ark. 180, 189 S.W.2d 917; French v. District Ct., 153 Colo. 10, 384 P.2d 268; People v. English, 31 Ill.2d 301, 201 N.E.2d 455; State v. Hathaway, 161 Me. 255, 211 A.2d 558; State v. Olson, 274 Minn.......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT