Gafford, Application of
| Decision Date | 16 August 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 21472,21472 |
| Citation | 903 P.2d 61,127 Idaho 472 |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Application of Steven GAFFORD. For a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Steven GAFFORD, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent. Idaho Falls May 1995 Term |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Alan Lance, Idaho Attorney General; and Lynn E. Thomas, Solicitor General, argued, Boise, for respondent.
The petitioner, Steven Gafford, is an insanity acquittee who seeks release from commitment on the ground that he is no longer mentally ill.
Gafford has a varied history of mental illness and commitment, including multiple admissions to State Hospital North, State Hospital South, the Idaho Security Medical Facility, and Veterans Administration inpatient facilities. On July 6, 1981, he was acquitted of criminal charges by reason of insanity and has since been confined at State Hospital South in Blackfoot, Idaho. However, it is undisputed that since the time of his commitment in 1981, his situation has changed and he no longer suffers from the mental condition that led to his acquittal.
In 1992, the United States Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana statute that allowed an insanity acquittee to be committed to a mental institution until he could demonstrate that he was not dangerous, even though he was no longer mentally ill. Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U.S. 71, 112 S.Ct. 1780, 118 L.Ed.2d 437 (1992). The Court held that such an acquittee is entitled to release, as a matter of due process, when the original basis for commitment no longer exists or the person is no longer dangerous. If the person's confinement is to be perpetuated beyond this point, that person is entitled to constitutionally adequate procedures (i.e. civil commitment procedures or criminal prosecution) to establish a valid basis for continued confinement. Id. at 77-82, 112 S.Ct. at 1784-86 (citations omitted). Relying on this decision, Gafford filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus seeking release from confinement on the ground that he is no longer mentally ill.
The magistrate determined that I.C. § 66-337(d), which allows for the continued confinement of insanity acquittees on the basis of dangerousness alone, is unconstitutional in light of Foucha. Finding that the basis for Gafford's acquittal and commitment no longer exists, the magistrate held that the State On appeal, the district court reversed the magistrate's decision. It concluded that although I.C. § 66-337(d) is unconstitutional, Foucha does not apply retroactively to Gafford's case. The district court also concluded that Gafford is estopped to challenge the constitutionality of the release provisions and that because he acquiesced in the use of the insanity defense, he has waived his right to challenge the statute under which he was committed.
[127 Idaho 475] could not continue to confine him based solely on his potential dangerousness.
When an appeal is initially taken to the district court from a decision by a magistrate, any subsequent review by this Court will be conducted independent of, but with due regard for, the decision of the district court. Smith v. Smith, 124 Idaho 431, 436, 860 P.2d 634, 639 (1993) (citations omitted). We will uphold the magistrate's findings of fact if supported by substantial and competent evidence. Id. However, free review is exercised over the trial court's determination as to whether constitutional requirements have been satisfied in light of the facts found. State v. Weber, 116 Idaho 449, 451-52, 776 P.2d 458, 460-61 (1989).
Involuntary commitment is a severe curtailment of an individual's liberty interest. Accordingly, such a commitment must be accomplished in a manner consistent with constitutional due process requirements. E.g., Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 92 S.Ct. 1845, 32 L.Ed.2d 435 (1972). Relying on Foucha, Gafford has invoked the due process protections of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In Foucha, the United States Supreme Court held that an insanity acquittee is entitled to release, as a matter of due process, when the original basis for acquittal and commitment no longer exists or the person is no longer dangerous. If the basis for acquittal is no longer present, that person must be released unless the State can demonstrate through other means, such as civil commitment proceedings, that the continued confinement is constitutionally proper. Foucha at 77-82, 112 S.Ct. at 1784-86. In reaching its holding, the Court struck down a Louisiana statute that allowed an insanity acquittee to be committed to a mental institution until he could demonstrate that he was not dangerous, even though the basis for his acquittal was no longer present.
In analyzing the application of Foucha to Idaho statutes, it should be noted that the statutes under which Gafford was originally committed were substantially amended in 1982. There is no longer a provision for acquittal of a criminal defendant on the basis of mental illness, and any mental illness, if not sufficient to remove the necessary criminal intent, is now simply a factor to be considered in the sentencing process. See I.C. §§ 18-207, 19-2523; State v. Card, 121 Idaho 425, 430, 825 P.2d 1081, 1086 (1992). Thus, this opinion, and those in the companion cases of Nielsen v. State, 127 Idaho 449, 902 P.2d 474 and Henry v. State, 127 Idaho 349, 900 P.2d 1360 issued in conjunction with this opinion, are of limited applicability and will affect only those criminal defendants currently committed in Idaho under the prior statutory scheme.
The Idaho release provision affecting Gafford is very similar to that at issue in Foucha. Former I.C. § 18-213 allowed for the acquittal of criminal defendants on the ground of mental illness. Upon acquittal, such persons were, pursuant to former I.C. § 18-214(1), automatically committed to the custody of the department of health and welfare to be placed in an appropriate mental health facility. Section 18-214(2) and (3) established the procedures for conditional release of insanity acquittees. Although these provisions have been repealed, I.C. § 66-337(d) incorporates former § 18-214 and provides that its release procedures shall remain in effect for every individual previously acquitted pursuant to § 18-213.
The State contends that even if I.C. § 66-337(d) is unconstitutional per Foucha, that decision represents a new rule of constitutional law that should not be retroactively applied to upset a final judgment upon which the State in good faith has relied. The magistrate determined that the State's contentions were unfounded, apparently because Gafford does not seek to disturb the judgment which resulted in his acquittal and commitment. The district court reversed the magistrate, holding that Foucha does not apply retroactively.
A fundamental policy underlying the general ban on the retroactive application of new constitutional rules is the fear of upsetting final judgments entered in good faith reliance on an old rule. This policy is obviously strong where a person attacks, in collateral proceedings, the validity of a prior judgment on the basis of a new rule. See, e.g., Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 113 S.Ct. 1710, 123 L.Ed.2d 353 (1993). In this case, however, Gafford does not contend that his confinement is illegal because of any deficiency in a prior judgment, but because the State perpetuates his confinement in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Thus, Gafford does not seek to have the holding in Foucha applied retroactively; he seeks the prospective application of that rule to his present and continued confinement. Accordingly, the retroactivity rules cited by the State and relied upon by the district court have no application in this case.
Even if the application of Foucha to this case did present a retroactivity problem, it would nonetheless apply to the terms of Gafford's present confinement. A new rule will be applied on collateral review if it requires the observance of procedures "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty." 1 Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989) (quoting Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 109 S.Ct. 1060, 103 L.Ed.2d 334 (1989) (plurality opinion)). Foucha announced a rule grounded in due process and formulated to protect a fundamental liberty interest. See, e.g., State v. Chilton, 112 Idaho 823, 828, 736 P.2d 1277, 1282 (1987) () (citations omitted). As such, it is a rule that requires observance of procedures "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty." Thus, even if Gafford did seek retroactive application of Foucha, that decision would unquestionably apply to his case.
COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL (ISSUE PRECLUSION)
The State contends that even if Foucha applies, the judgment of acquittal entered in 1981 has given rise to an "estoppel by judgment" which precludes the re-litigation of Gafford's mental state. This contention is without merit.
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