Heindlmeyer v. Ottawa Cty. Weapons Lic. Bd.
Decision Date | 08 December 2005 |
Docket Number | Docket No. 255738. |
Citation | 707 N.W.2d 353,268 Mich. App. 202 |
Parties | Joseph HEINDLMEYER, Petitioner-Appellee, v. OTTAWA COUNTY CONCEALED WEAPONS LICENSING BOARD, Respondent-Appellant. |
Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Before: SMOLENSKI, P.J., and MURPHY and DAVIS, JJ.
Respondent, the Ottawa County Concealed Weapons Licensing Board, appeals by leave granted the judgment of the circuit court ordering the board to issue petitioner a concealed pistol license sought under the concealed pistol licensing act (CPLA), M.C.L. § 28.421 et seq. The circuit court's ruling effectively reversed the board's denial of petitioner's application for a license. The board presents two arguments on appeal. First, it contends that the circuit court erred in failing to review the board's decision pursuant to the "clearly erroneous" standard found in M.C.L. § 28.425d(2). Second, the board maintains that its decision to deny petitioner's request for a license was not clearly erroneous, where there was clear and convincing evidence that granting petitioner a license would be detrimental to petitioner's safety or the safety of others as specified in M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(n). The board points to petitioner's mental health history as the basis for denying him a license. We disagree with both arguments presented by the board and hold that the circuit court was statutorily mandated under M.C.L. § 28.425d(1) to conduct a hearing de novo and render its own independent determination with respect to whether there was clear and convincing evidence precluding the issuance of a license pursuant to M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(n). Furthermore, we conclude that the circuit court did not err in ordering the board to issue petitioner a concealed pistol license and in reversing the board's denial of petitioner's license application. Accordingly, we affirm.
Petitioner, a resident of Ottawa County and a reserve deputy sheriff for Allegan County, applied for a concealed pistol license on July 9, 2001. He appeared before the board on four occasions in pursuance of a license, appearing for a final time on January 17, 2002. Petitioner had previously offered to obtain a psychological evaluation at the board's request, and he subsequently forwarded to the board two favorable reports relative to a psychiatric examination and a psychological examination, which reports the board received before the January 2002 hearing. The board reviewed these reports and, at the hearing, noted several concerns regarding petitioner's mental health.
The board's chairperson, county prosecutor Ronald Frantz, summarized petitioner's mental health history on the record:
Based on my review of the information that I have, in June of 1989, you were hospitalized. The reports indicate ... that it was a voluntary hospitalization when you were in ROTC [Reserve Officers Training Corps]. The reports that you've provided to us indicated that there was some kind of diagnosis either schizo phrenoform disorder, I'm not clear which, and no medical records or mental records clarify what happened in June of 1989.
And the next event is early in December of 1989, you were hospitalized at Pine Rest, your mother petitioned you in on an involuntary basis, she signed the petition. She indicates in her petition that you had been treated by Dr. Henry Mulder, I believe from Holland Community Hospital, for some time prior to the actual commitment petition.
She indicated that there was active talk of suicide, that you held some kind of explosive device to you as some kind of a threat to ward off, I presume, law enforcement from taking you into involuntary custody, and as a result of that commitment procedure beginning, there were some diagnoses reached.
One of those from Dr. David Johns at Holland Hospital is that you suffered from depression with suicidal ideation. Another diagnosis from Dr. John Sneed at Pine Rest was [that] this is a case of major depression with suicidal ideation.
And Dr. Sneed, in his report, cited some acts of violence that apparently had occurred at Pine Rest. He did mention the need of — the need for six staff members to subdue you on some occasion at the hospital. He mentioned, at least at some point, you barricaded yourself in the room. That you tried to smash a window, and that you secreted a fork, screwdriver, and a wire for whatever purpose.
Dr. Dane Vamarious, I believe[ ] it is, also indicated that you suffered from major depression with psychotic features indicating paranoia in parentheses. In his report he indicated that you expressed thoughts about blowing up the hospital staff with a pipe bomb and suicidal ideation.
Based on your behavior at Pine Rest, a new application for hospitalization was signed by Judith Kilmer, who was a nurse, and that resulted in you being transferred, I believe, to Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital again in December of 1989. There you were diagnosed by Dr. Chong Kim, with major depression with psychotic features. And ... she noted in the report, "increasing depression, agitation, and hostility[.]"
On December 21 of 1989, an alternative treatment order was signed, and I believe this occurred probably at the courtroom in [the] Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital, and I believe in all likelihood, [attorney] Mike Reister was representing you at that time. That resulted in, as I understand it, in [sic] a transfer of care to Dr. Henry Mulder at Holland Community Hospital. I don't know from the records whether not you actually were admitted to Holland Hospital or not. But I believe you admitted in the past that was the case for a brief period of time. And, ultimately, you were placed under the supervision of Community Mental Health.
After recounting this history, Frantz proceeded to discuss the two recent mental health evaluations that petitioner had obtained. These evaluations were obtained for the specific purpose of supporting petitioner's application, and they were conducted by Dr. Hoeksma and Dr. Gribben. Both evaluations were favorable to petitioner and suggested that he was mentally competent to possess a concealed pistol license.
Prosecutor Frantz noted his belief that the two evaluations were based on false information. He observed that neither expert's report was consistent with petitioner's previous mental health history. According to Frantz, Dr. Hoeksma's psychological report suggested that petitioner was not completely forthcoming with relevant mental health information during the evaluation. Moreover, Frantz questioned Dr. Gribben's finding that petitioner had never displayed schizophrenia. He further attacked the credibility of Dr. Gribben's psychiatric report.
Frantz then proceeded to give his own conclusions. He first addressed M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(k), which prohibits the issuance of a concealed pistol license to anyone who has "a diagnosed mental illness at the time the application is made regardless of whether he or she is receiving treatment for that illness."1 Although Frantz disagreed with much of the information contained in Dr. Hoeksma's and Dr. Gribben's reports, he stated that he was in no position to conclude that petitioner was mentally ill at the time of his application.
Frantz then addressed M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(k), which prohibits the issuance of a license to anyone who has been "subject to an order of involuntary commitment in an inpatient or outpatient setting due to mental illness." Frantz noted that petitioner had been committed in 1989 pursuant to a petition signed by his mother. However, Frantz concluded that because the 1989 "petition" for commitment was legally different than an "order" of involuntary commitment, § 425b(7)(k) was not applicable.
Finally, Frantz discussed M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(o), which has since been renumbered as subsection 7(n) pursuant to 2002 P.A. 719. Except for a minor deviation irrelevant to this case, there were no substantive changes as a result of the amendment, and for the purposes of this opinion we shall make reference to § 425b(7)(n), which provides:
(7) The concealed weapon licensing board shall issue a license to an applicant to carry a concealed pistol within the period required under this act after the applicant properly submits an application under subsection (1) and the concealed weapon licensing board determines that all of the following circumstances exist:
* * *
(n) Issuing a license to the applicant to carry a concealed pistol in this state is not detrimental to the safety of the applicant or to any other individual. A determination under this subdivision shall be based on clear and convincing evidence of repeated violations of this act,[2] crimes, personal protection orders or injunctions, or police reports or other clear and convincing evidence of the actions of, or statements of, the applicant that bear directly on the applicant's ability to carry a concealed pistol.
In addressing subsection 7(n), Frantz referred to evidence that petitioner had constructed a pipe bomb on one occasion and had threatened to blow up Pine Rest Hospital on another occasion. Additionally, he again cited the references in petitioner's file to suicidal ideations and violent tendencies. Frantz suggested that although the passage of time was a factor in his consideration, he was inclined to vote to deny petitioner's application pursuant to M.C.L. § 28.425b(7)(n).
One of the other members of the board briefly agreed with Frantz's analysis, and the third member of the board made no statement. All three members of the board voted to deny petitioner's application, although the particular statutory...
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...referred to as “a well-accepted, highly utilized, and much respected legal dictionary.” Heindlmeyer v. Ottawa Cnty. Concealed Weapons Licensing Bd., 268 Mich.App. 202, 221, 707 N.W.2d 353, 364 (2005). See also Mabry v. Superior Court, 185 Cal.App.4th 208, 233, 110 Cal.Rptr.3d 201, 220 (2010......
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