Hedberg, Application of
| Citation | 43 Cal.Rptr. 193,232 Cal.App.2d 728 |
| Decision Date | 09 March 1965 |
| Docket Number | Cr. 10580 |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Application of Cary G. Branch, Attorney, Petitioner, on Behalf of Robert Bernard HEDBERG, Jr., for a Writ of Habeas Corpus. |
Cary G. Branch, Los Angeles, for petitioner.
Thomas C. Lynch, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., and William Zessar, Deputy Atty. Gen., for respondent.
A petition having been filed on behalf of Robert Bernard Hedberg, alleging that he was improperly restrained by the Sheriff of Los Angeles County at the request of the Adult Authority of this state, we issued an order to show cause why a writ of habeas corpus should not issue as prayed. It further appearing that there was danger that the relator might be removed by the prison authorities to an institution outside of our territorial jurisdiction, prior to the time we could determine the issues raised by the petition and the return thereto, we issued an interim order restraining his removal from the County of Los Angeles. For reasons hereinafter set forth, we conclude that the relator is lawfully held under the orders of the Adult Authority and that we should not interfere with the prompt execution of those orders.
Petitioner was charged by information filed by the District Attorney of Los Angeles County on December 16, 1957, number 197363, with the crime of grand theft in count I and burglary in count II. A plea of not guilty was entered as to each count and the trial thereon was set in Department Pomona B of the Superior Court on January 21, 1958, and further continuances for trial were had until April 22, 1958. On the latter date the trial judge directed the sheriff to file a mental illness petition against petitioner in Department 54, then designated as the Psychiatric Department of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
Trial of the criminal action was postponed until May 26, 1958. The minutes of the trial court show that on May 26, 1958, the criminal action was placed off calendar for the reason that the defendant (petitioner) had been committed in Department 54 to the Department of Mental Hygiene for placement in Camarillo State Hospital. The minutes of the trial court further show that on September 23, 1958, the sheriff was directed to return petitioner from Camarillo State Hospital to the trial court and the criminal action was then set for trial for October 6, 1958. After a further continuance, and on October 29, 1958, action number 197363 was consolidated with criminal action number 202111 and both cases were continued to November 3, 1958, for resetting. After a further continuance, and on November 7, 1958, petitioner withdrew his plea of not guilty to count I of information number 197363 (grand theft) and entered a plea of guilty thereto. Petitioner eventually was sentenced to state prison on the charge of grand theft and the other counts against him in both informations were dismissed.
The record further shows that, on May 5, 1958, pursuant to the directions of the trial court, the sheriff filed a petition, number 171951, to have the defendant adjudged a mentally ill person under provisions of section 5040 et seq., of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Three psychiatrists were appointed to examine defendant and report their findings to the court. The petition was duly served upon the defendant and the record shows that no demand for a hearing thereon was made as provided by section 5050.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The court, after having considered the petition and the reports of the three psychiatrists, did, on May 23, 1958, adjudge the defendant to be a mentally ill person as defined in section 5040 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and ordered him committed to the Department of Mental Hygiene for placement at Camarillo State Hospital. (Welf. & Inst.Code, § 5100, subd. (b).) This was the basis for the order made on May 26, 1958, in Department Pomona B, placing the criminal action off calendar.
On September 18, 1958, the superintendent and medical director of the state hospital at Camarillo advised the trial court by letter that the defendant's case had been reviewed by the medical staff and in their opinion he was in suitable condition for a return to court to dispose of the pending matter, and requested that the necessary order issue to effect such return. The certificate of the Superintendent of Camarillo State Hospital met the requirements of section 1372 of the Penal Code.
The record discloses that the judge who accepted petitioner's plea of guilty and who pronounced judgment and sentence in the criminal action was the same judge who held petitioner to be a mentally ill person, and ordered him committed to the state hospital at Camarillo. This circumstance was brought about by the fact that the judge who was assigned to sit part time in Department Pomona B where the criminal action was assigned for trial was also assigned to sit part time in Department 54, then designated as the psychiatric department of the court.
Eventually petitioner was released from state prison and is now on parole under the sentence pronounced upon his plea of guilty to the crime hereinbefore referred to. While on parole he was charged with and entered a plea of guilty to a violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, for which he was placed on probation, one of the conditions being that he serve a term in the Los Angeles County Jail. The Division of Adult Paroles has placed a hold with the Sheriff of Los Angeles County seeking custody of petitioner, presumably as a parole violator. Petitioner seeks his release from custody asserting that the judgment and sentence on the charge of grand theft, upon which petitioner is now on parole, is based upon a void judgment for the reason that he was denied due process of law by the trial court in its failure to give him a hearing on the issue of his sanity pursuant to the provisions of section 1368, Penal Code.
If at any time during the pendency of an action and prior to judgment, a doubt arises as to the sanity of the defendant, the court must order the question as to his sanity to be determined by a trial by the court without a jury, or with a jury if a trial by jury is demanded. (Pen.Code, § 1368.) The trial judge having expressed such a doubt, it became his duty to comply with the mandate of Penal Code, section 1368, and to try that issue. (People v. Westbrook, * 62 Cal.2d- ----, ----...
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