Moses v. Parwatikar, 86-1350

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: Before ROSS, Circuit Judge, FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge, and WOLLMAN; FLOYD R. GIBSON
• Citation: 813 F.2d 891
• Parties: John MOSES, Appellant, v. Sadashiv D. PARWATIKAR, M.D., Appellee.
• Docket Number: No. 86-1350,86-1350
• Decision Date: 09 March 1987

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813 F.2d 891 John MOSES, Appellant,
v.
Sadashiv D. PARWATIKAR, M.D., Appellee. No. 86-1350. United States Court of Appeals,
Eighth Circuit. Submitted Jan. 15, 1987.
Decided March 9, 1987.

David W. Sobelman, St. Louis, Mo., for appellant.

Mary Stewart Tansey, Jefferson City, Mo., for appellee.

Before ROSS, Circuit Judge, FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge, and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

FLOYD R. GIBSON, Senior Circuit Judge.

John Moses appeals from the district court's ¹ order dismissing with prejudice his pro se 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and Sec. 1985 complaint. The district court held that the claims were frivolous and dismissed prior to service of process on the defendant, Dr. Parwatikar. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In February 1985, John Moses was charged in St. Louis, Missouri, Circuit Court with burglary and murder. Moses pleaded not guilty and requested that a psychiatrist be appointed to determine whether he was mentally competent to stand trial and whether he was legally insane at the time of the alleged criminal acts. The court granted the motion and ordered Dr. Parwatikar to examine Moses.

After a brief examination Dr. Parwatikar reported to the court that Moses was competent to stand trial. Subsequently, Moses withdrew his not guilty plea, entered a guilty plea, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

In January 1986, Moses filed, in forma pauperis, a pro se complaint alleging that Dr. Parwatikar conspired with Missouri officials to deprive him of a fair competency hearing in violation of his constitutional rights. The crux of Moses' claim is that (1) he was not informed that Dr. Parwatikar had conducted many other competency evaluations for the state; (2) Dr. Parwatikar has repeatedly found his patients to be competent; and (3) Dr. Parwatikar acted in concert with the prosecution to deprive Moses of a meaningful examination.

The district court held that the defendant was absolutely immune and dismissed the suit. On appeal Moses argues that pleading a conspiracy defeats absolute immunity,

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that when read liberally his pro se complaint adequately alleges a conspiracy, and that even if his allegations are inadequate he should be allowed to amend his complaint, and therefore dismissal with prejudice was improper.

II. DISCUSSION

Recently this court held that "nonjudicial persons who fulfill quasi-judicial functions intimately related to the judicial process have absolute immunity for damage claims arising from their performance of the delegated functions." Myers v. Morris, 810 F.2d 1437, 1466 (8th Cir.1987) (court appointed therapist). As a psychiatrist appointed by the court to conduct a competency examination, Dr. Parwatikar performed functions essential to the judicial process. See Burkes v. Callion, 433 F.2d 318 (9th Cir.1970), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 908, 91 S.Ct. 2217, 29 L.Ed.2d 685 (1971); Miner v. Baker, 638 F.Supp. 239, 241 (E.D.Mo.1986) (doctor "enjoys absolute immunity in his performance of the quasi-judicial function of court-appointed psychiatrist").

Also, Dr. Parwatikar's function is analogous to that of a witness in a judicial proceeding. See Kurzawa v. Mueller, 732 F.2d 1456, 1458 (6th Cir.1984). His appointed duties consisted of examining Moses and reporting his findings back to the court. Anything less than absolute immunity would defeat the requirement that the "paths which lead to the ascertainment of truth * * * be left as free and unobstructed as possible." Briscoe v. LaHue, 460 U.S. 325, 333, ...