People v. Parrish, 93CA0309

• Decision Date: 24 March 1994
• Docket Number: No. 93CA0309,93CA0309
• Citation: 879 P.2d 453
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles L. PARRISH, Defendant-Appellant. . III
• Court: Colorado Court of Appeals

Page 453

879 P.2d 453

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles L. PARRISH, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 93CA0309.

Colorado Court of Appeals Div. III.

March 24, 1994.

Rehearing Denied April 21, 1994.

Certiorari Denied Aug. 29, 1994.

Gale A. Norton, Atty. Gen., Stephen K. ErkenBrack, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., Timothy M. Tymkovich, Sol. Gen., Paul Koehler, Asst. Atty. Gen., Denver, for plaintiff-appellee.

Warren, Mundt & Martin, P.C., Thomas G. Martin, Colorado Springs, for defendant-appellant.

Opinion by Judge DAVIDSON.

Defendant, Charles L. Parrish, appeals from the trial court order denying his motion for release from the state hospital. We affirm.

In 1978, defendant was charged with attempted first degree murder, attempted first degree sexual assault, menacing, second degree assault, theft, and crime of violence. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to the Colorado State Hospital in 1981, where he has remained since that time.

In March 1992, defendant filed a request for a hearing to consider his release from the state hospital pursuant to § 16-8-120, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 8A). A committee of doctors conducted a release examination of the defendant prior to the hearing on his motion. The members of the committee concluded that defendant continued to suffer primarily from antisocial personality disorder and that he also manifested features of borderline personality disorder and paraphilia, a sexual disorder characterized by arousal in response to objects or situations not part of normal sexual arousal patterns. The committee further determined that defendant's abnormal mental condition would likely cause him to be dangerous either to himself or to others.

Three psychiatrists testified at the hearing on defendant's motion. The first was defendant's treating psychiatrist at the state hospital. She stated that defendant has an antisocial personality disorder and manifests features of other personality disorders, including difficulty controlling his emotions, difficulty relating to other people, and a gender identity disturbance. She, like the members of the committee, concluded that defendant had an abnormal mental condition and that defendant remained dangerous as a result. The second doctor to testify was a member of the evaluation committee. He also stated that he considered defendant to suffer from an abnormal mental condition.

The third psychiatrist to testify, who was called by the defendant, agreed that defendant suffered from an antisocial personality disorder and that he continued to be a danger to himself or to others. Unlike the other experts, however, he testified that, in his opinion, antisocial personality disorder does not constitute a mental illness. Rather, it was his opinion that defendant simply had a mental condition that caused him to be dangerous. However, on cross-examination, the witness agreed that antisocial personality disorder was an abnormal mental condition.

The trial court concluded that, based on the testimony at the hearing, defendant has an abnormal mental condition and that, as a result of this mental condition, he remains dangerous either to himself or to others. Accordingly, defendant's motion for release was denied.

On appeal, defendant contends that his continued confinement is unlawful. We disagree.

I.

Generally, a state's power to confine an individual in a non-criminal setting is limited. A state must show a legitimate and compelling interest to justify deprivation of a person's physical freedom. United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987).

Our supreme court has held that when a defendant has been adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity for acts which, but for his insanity, should be punishable as crimes, that adjudication furnishes a legitimate basis for the immediate commitment of the defendant to an institution for observation and treatment. People v. Chavez, 629 P.2d 1040 (Colo.1981).

In its analysis, the Chavez court ascertained that the statutory commitment scheme reflects a legislative determination that it is in the best interest of society to continue the commitment of those persons who exhibit both an abnormal mental condition and dangerousness, and it ruled that placing the burden of proof on the defendant to show that he is eligible for release does not violate due process.

Further, the Chavez court held that the General Assembly had adopted a stringent test for release in recognition of the increased risk to the public associated with the release decision and that this stringent test is reasonably related to the state's interest in public safety. People v. Chavez, supra; see People v. Howell, 196 Colo. 408, 586 P.2d 27 (1978); People v. Giles, 192 Colo. 240, 557 P.2d 408 (1976). See also Jones v. United States, 463 U.S. 354, 103 S.Ct. 3043, 77 L.Ed.2d 694 (1983) (courts should pay particular deference to reasonable legislative judgments about the relationship between dangerous behavior and mental illness).

Nonetheless, defendant contends, given his diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, his immediate release is mandated by the recent United States Supreme Court decision of Foucha v. Louisiana, 504 U.S. 71, 112 S.Ct. 1780, 118 L.Ed.2d 437 (1992).

Foucha, previously found not guilty by reason of insanity, was confined in a psychiatric facility and was diagnosed as having an antisocial personality disorder. He sought release, and a panel of three doctors concluded that, although Foucha remained dangerous, he no longer suffered from a mental illness. Based on the finding that he was still dangerous, the lower court returned Foucha to the psychiatric facility for continued confinement. The Supreme Court, however, reversed. It held, among other things, that the Louisiana statute governing release from commitment violated due process because it allowed an insanity acquittee to be committed to a mental institution until he is able to demonstrate that he is not dangerous, even though he does not suffer from any mental illness. The court concluded that due process requires that both mental illness and dangerousness be present in order to extend a person's commitment.

Thus, defendant argues as follows: Because Foucha held that due process considerations require that the continued confinement of a person found not guilty by reason of insanity be based on a finding of both mental illness and dangerousness, and because § 16-8-120 defines eligibility for release in terms of "abnormal mental condition," persons who have an "abnormal mental condition" may not be "mentally ill" and thus cannot be deprived of their liberty in violation of due process of law. He contends that he was found to be ineligible for release based upon his antisocial personality disorder, which, he claims, is not a mental illness according to Foucha. Thus, he asserts, although he may be dangerous, he does not have a mental illness and therefore is entitled to immediate release.

In other words, defendant's position is that continued commitment in a psychiatric institution requires that the individual detained have a mental illness and be dangerous to himself or to others; an antisocial personality disorder is not a mental illness; and that, accordingly, his diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder is not a valid basis for continued confinement under Foucha.

We conclude, for several reasons, that defendant's release is not mandated by the Foucha decision.

First, the Colorado and Louisiana release statutes differ in an important respect. Under the Louisiana statutory scheme, an acquittee may be returned to the mental institution if found to be dangerous, whether or not he is also mentally ill. See Foucha v. Louisiana, supra. The Colorado release statute, § 16-8-120, however, requires both a finding of abnormal mental condition and dangerousness in order for a court to order continued confinement. As we interpret these terms, this provision falls squarely within the Foucha requirements.

Defendant argues that, nonetheless, Foucha specifically requires a finding of mental illness, but the Colorado release statute appears to allow for the continued confinement of a person who is not mentally ill. This argument is based on defendant's...