Hickey v. District Court of Kossuth County, 53076

• Decision Date: 10 February 1970
• Docket Number: No. 53076,53076
• Citation: 174 N.W.2d 406
• Parties: Lawrence Herbert HICKEY, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT COURT OF KOSSUTH COUNTY, Iowa, Respondent.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 406

174 N.W.2d 406

Lawrence Herbert HICKEY, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT COURT OF KOSSUTH COUNTY, Iowa, Respondent.

No. 53076.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Feb. 10, 1970.

James H. Andreasen, Algona, for petitioner.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., and Michael J. Laughlin, Asst. Atty. Gen., for respondent.

LARSON, Justice.

Pursuant to defendant's plea of guilty to the crime of breaking and entering contrary to section 708.8 of the Code of 1966, on September, 19, 1967, he was sentenced to the Men's Reformatory at Anamosa, Iowa, for a period of not more than ten years. He appealed, and thereafter filed a petition for writ of certiorari challenging the trial court's jurisdiction to accept his guilty plea under the circumstances revealed to the court. On March 14, 1968, a member of this court granted the writ, and on April 3, 1968, defendant dismissed his appeal. Respondent accepted service, and on December 16, 1969, this matter was submitted to the full bench.

The proposition relied upon by petitioner herein to sustain the writ is that the district court acted illegally by proceeding in the criminal case after it appeared defendant had been duly committed to a mental health institute, which established a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's sanity. In his brief points he asserts: (1) When the court is aware of facts which raise a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's sanity, the question of sanity must be determined before proceeding further. (Section 783.1, Code 1966.) (2) When the defendant had recently been found mentally ill and was committed to and incarcerated in the Mental Health Institute and had not been discharged or released by it, a reasonable doubt exists as to the defendant's sanity. (3) It is not necessary for the defendant in a criminal case to plead insanity where there is a reasonable doubt as to his sanity and the court is aware of the facts giving rise to the reasonable doubt. (4) For the court to proceed in a criminal case after being aware of facts which establish reasonable doubt as to the defendant's sanity is illegal and an abuse of the court's judicial discretion.

Respondent's counsel denies with vigor the assertions in brief points (1) and (2) and contends the trial court was fully and adequately informed as to defendant's mental condition at the time it accepted his plea of guilty, and that its action in failing to find such reasonable doubt is supported by substantial evidence of defendant's release and competence to participate in these proceedings. We cannot agree.

I. Section 783.1, Code 1966, provides:

'If a defendant appears in any stage of the trial of a criminal prosecution, and a reasonable doubt arises as to his sanity, further proceedings must be suspended and a trial had upon that question.'

This section of the Code is mandatory. State v. Gaffney, 237 Iowa 1399, 1403, 25 N.W.2d 352, 354. Except as to who decides when and under what circumstances a reasonable doubt arises, it is very clear. We have considered this statute in the rather recent cases of State v. McCollom, 260 Iowa 977, 987, 151 N.W.2d 519, 525; State v. Hamilton, 247 Iowa 768, 76 N.W.2d 184, 187; and State v. Bruntlett, 240 Iowa 338, 350, 354, 36 N.W.2d 450, 455, 457.

II. It being well established that the trial court has sole jurisdiction of one charged by information or indictment with a crime, a presumption arises that it retains jurisdiction until something is shown which legally causes its loss. The burden, of course, is upon one who contends that the court lost jurisdiction to overcome that presumption and prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the court acted illegally in proceeding further with the matter being considered. 46 Am.Jur.2d, Judgments, §§ 30, 31, pp. 335, 336.

By the form of this action petitioner challenges the right of the trial court to proceed with the criminal matter being considered, and thus assumes the burden to show in what manner the trial court acted illegally in failing to find that reasonable doubt existed as to defendant's mental capacity to participate in his defense meaningfully.

III. When the circumstances suggest a question of reasonable doubt as to the accused's sanity, as they do here, it is initially for the trial court to determine from sufficiently revealed circumstances whether a reasonable doubt exists as to the accused's mental capacity or ability to appreciate the charge against him, understand the proceedings, and aid in conducting his defense. State v. McCollom, supra; State v. Bruntlett, supra, and cases cited therein. Although we must look to the sound discretion of the trial court to resolve that question before further proceedings are taken, this vested discretion is a judicial discretion and must be guided by the law so as to do substantial equity and justice. State v. Hamilton, supra.

IV. We have often held 'sanity', to which section 783.1 refers, is one's mental capacity at some stage of the trial. The test of insanity under this section, we have said, is defendant's mental capacity to appreciate the charge against him, understand the proceedings, and conduct his defense. State v. McCollom, supra, 260 Iowa 977, 987, 151 N.W.2d 519, 524.

'Reasonable doubt' as used in section 783.1 exists when, after consideration of all the relevant facts, one's mind is left in such a condition that he cannot honestly say he feels an abiding conviction to a moral certainty as to the truth of a matter, and 'doubt' is an attitude of mind toward the acceptance of or belief in a proposition, theory, or statement in which the judgment is not at rest but inclines alternately to either side. State v. Hamilton, supra, 247 Iowa 768, 773, 76 N.W.2d 184, 186.

In this connection we also note that, in considering the term 'reasonable doubt', we are dealing with probabilities. The words are not technical words, although in resolving the question testimony of professional technicians may be necessary. The words are factual and must be resolved by practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not just legal or professional experts, may act.

Reasonable doubt must, therefore, be determined by a consideration of all the facts and circumstances obtained from reasonably trustworthy sources and which are in themselves sufficient to warrant a man of reasonable caution to believe the accused in a criminal matter can or cannot appreciate the charge against him, understand the proceedings, and help conduct his defense. Past commitments to a mental hospital, releases, and discharges, as well as medical or expert opinions, may be considered in the determination of such reasonable doubt, but they in themselves are not conclusive of the issue before the court.

V. Should it appear that the defendant has been committed to and treated in a mental health institute as mentally ill, a showing as to the extent and seriousness of that illness is necessary before the trial court in a criminal matter can determine, in the first instance, whether there is reasonable doubt as to defendant's capacity to participate meaningfully in his trial or enter a plea of guilty to the crime charged.

Of course, when an official body finds that one is mentally ill, we must indulge in the presumption that that illness continues until something is shown sufficient to overcome that presumption, such as a release, discharge, or other competent evidence of recovery. It has been held that a person adjudged to be insane is presumed to continue as such until the contrary is shown to appear. Carr v. Carr, 209 Iowa 160, 165, 225 N.W. 948, 950; Hazen v. Donahoe, 208 Iowa 582, 584, 226 N.W. 33, 34; Weber v. Chicago R.I. & P.R. Co., 175 Iowa 358, 382, 151 N.W. 852, 861 L.R.A.1918A, 626; annotation, 68 A.L.R. 1309, 1315; annotation, 7 A.L.R. 568, 588. The same rule must be applied to those properly committed as mentally ill.

VI. The presence of a mental illness generally does not equate with incompetency to stand trial. Feguer v. United States, 302 F.2d 214, and citations. Even an expert's opinion on competency rises no higher than the reasons on which it is based, and is usually not binding upon the trier of the facts. See Dusky v. United Sates (8th Cir.), 295 F.2d. 743 (cert. den. 368 U.S. 998, 82 S.Ct. 625, 7 L.Ed.2d 536).

In 44 C.J.S. Insane Persons § 127, p. 284, it is stated: 'The test of insanity of an accused precluding his being put on trial for a criminal offense is usually stated to be his capacity to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him and to conduct his defense in a rational manner; and, if he passes this test, he may be tried, although on some other subjects his mind may be deranged or unsound.' See statements to the same effect in Smith v. United States, 267 F.2d 210, 211, and Lee v. Wiman, 280 F.2d 257, 265.

Thus, unless the statute deprives the trial court of jurisdiction to put one on trial for a criminal offense when...