Richard S. v. Carpinello

• Decision Date: 15 December 2009
• Docket Number: Docket No. 08-4197-pr.
• Citation: 589 F.3d 75
• Parties: RICHARD S., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Sharon CARPINELLO, RN, PhD, Commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health, James Spooner, Executive Director, St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, Respondents-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

589 F.3d 75

RICHARD S., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Sharon CARPINELLO, RN, PhD, Commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health, James Spooner, Executive Director, St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center, Respondents-Appellees.

Docket No. 08-4197-pr.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: July 9, 2009.

Decided: December 15, 2009.

Arthur A. Baer, Dennis B. Feld, Mental Hygiene Legal Service, Mineola, NY, for Petitioner-Appellant.

Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General of the State of New York (Alyson J. Gill and Elaine L. Block, Assistant Attorneys General, on the brief), New York, NY, for Respondents-Appellees.

Before: CALABRESI, HALL, Circuit Judges, SESSIONS,^* District Judge.

SESSIONS, District Judge:

Petitioner-Appellant Richard S. appeals the July 22, 2008 denial of his petition for habeas corpus by the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Hurd, J.). Richard S. argues that the state courts unreasonably refused to apply the United States Supreme Court holding in Kansas v. Crane, 534 U.S. 407, 122 S.Ct. 867, 151 L.Ed.2d 856 (2002), to his case. For the reasons that follow, we hold that Crane's involuntary commitment standard applies to insanity acquittees, but that the New York courts did not unreasonably conclude that Richard S.'s continued involuntary confinement meets the requirements of the due process clause. The denial of Richard S.'s petition for a writ of habeas corpus is therefore affirmed.

BACKGROUND

I. New York's Statutory Scheme

Under New York law, a person charged with a crime may be determined, by the acceptance of a plea or by verdict, to be not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect ("NRRMDD"). Francis S. v. Stone, 221 F.3d 100, 101 (2d Cir.2000). Upon entry of a verdict of NRRMDD or acceptance of a plea of NRRMDD, the court orders a psychiatric examination and conducts an initial hearing to determine whether the acquittee is mentally ill¹ or is suffering from a dangerous mental disorder.² N.Y.Crim. Proc. Law § 330.20(2), (5), (6) (McKinney 2005) (hereafter "CPL"). Based on the evidence at the initial hearing the NRRMDD acquittee receives one of three classifications. If the court finds that the NRRMDD acquittee has a dangerous mental disorder, it classifies the acquittee as "Track 1," and must order commitment to a secure facility for an initial term of six months. See CPL § 330.20(1)(f), (6). If the court finds that the NRRMDD acquittee is mentally ill but does not have a dangerous mental disorder, it classifies the acquittee as "Track 2," and must issue an order of conditions³ and an order committing the acquittee to the custody of the state commissioner of mental health, pursuant to New York's mental hygiene law. CPL § 330.20(7). If the court finds that the NRRMDD acquittee does not have a dangerous mental disorder and is not mentally ill, it classifies the acquittee as "Track 3," and "must discharge the [individual] either unconditionally or subject to an order of conditions." Id.; see also In re David B., 97 N.Y.2d 267, 739 N.Y.S.2d 858, 766 N.E.2d 565, 570-71 (2002) (describing New York's statutory scheme for involuntary commitment of insanity acquittees).

At the expiration of a six-month commitment order to a secure facility, the NRRMDD acquittee receives the first of a series of court reviews to determine his then current mental condition. If the court finds that the individual continues to have a dangerous mental disorder he must be recommitted under a first retention order for not more than one year. CPL § 330.20(1)(g), (8). Second and subsequent reviews occur every two years. CPL § 330.20(1)(h), (9). If upon review a court finds that the NRRMDD acquittee no longer suffers from a dangerous mental disorder, it may direct transfer to a non-secure facility with an order of conditions if the individual is still mentally ill, or release with an order of conditions if the individual is no longer mentally ill. CPL § 330.20(11), (12). At any time during the period covered by an order of conditions, a court must conduct a hearing and issue an order of recommitment if it finds that the NRRMDD acquittee has a dangerous mental disorder. CPL § 330.20(14).

The NRRMDD acquittee may appeal by permission a commitment order, retention order or recommitment order to an intermediate state appellate court, and may appeal by permission a final decision to the Court of Appeals. CPL § 330.20(21).

II. Petitioner's History

From an early age, Richard S. was the victim of repeated severe physical, sexual and emotional abuse by his mother and his older brother. Between the ages of ten and eighteen he attempted suicide four times. At age 17, after his mother's death, he began to abuse alcohol and drugs. Later, after marriage, fatherhood and divorce, he began engaging in promiscuous and risky homosexual encounters.

In July 1980 Richard S. met a fifteen-year-old male, took him home and after a night of sexual relations, stabbed him three times in the chest with a pocket knife while the youth was sleeping. Richard S. turned himself in and was charged with several crimes, including attempted murder in the second degree. At the time of his arrest, he was on probation for manslaughter for the 1978 killing of another man whom he had stabbed to death after sex. He had no memory of engaging in any violence in the earlier case. His probation was revoked and he was incarcerated pending a competency hearing. He again attempted suicide.

Richard S. was found competent to stand trial. He then underwent psychiatric examination to determine his mental state at the time of the crime. All examining psychiatrists agreed that at the time of the stabbing, Richard S. lacked the capacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of his actions, and that he was in need of institutional treatment because of the danger he presented to himself and others. In re David B., 739 N.Y.S.2d 858, 766 N.E.2d at 569. Richard S. was adjudicated not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, and committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health, pursuant to CPL § 330.20. Id. Based on the New York Supreme Court's findings, Richard S. was classified as "Track 1," and committed to a secure facility in 1981. At the time of his initial commitment, Richard S. received a diagnosis of atypical psychosis, psychosexual disorder and substance abuse disorder. Id.

After a series of retention orders, the state Supreme Court in 1994 ordered Richard S. transferred to a non-secure facility because, although he remained mentally ill, he was no longer dangerously mentally ill. In 1996, based on allegations whose truth and significance is disputed, the state court ordered Richard S. returned to a secure facility under an emergency transfer order.

In 1998, the state Supreme Court again concluded that Richard S. no longer suffered from a dangerous mental disorder, but still qualified as mentally ill, and should be placed in a non-secure facility. See id. at 570. On appeal from the Appellate Division's affirmance of the hearing court's decision, the New York Court of Appeals first confirmed

that there is a constitutionally required minimum level of dangerousness to oneself or others that must be shown before an insanity acquittee may be retained in a non-secure facility, and that a finding that an individual is `mentally ill' as defined under CPL 330.20(1)(d) contemplates a degree of dangerousness that satisfies due process concerns.

Id. That minimum level of dangerousness "may be supported by evidence of violence," id. at 572, but

[a]part from evidence of violence, retention of an insanity acquittee in a non-secure facility is justified where the State shows by a preponderance of the evidence that continued care and treatment are essential to the physical or psychological welfare of the individual and that the individual is unable to understand the need for such care and treatment. Retention also may be supported by the need to prepare for a safe and stable transition from non-secure commitment to release. Thus, in addition to recent acts of violence and the risk of harm to the defendant or others that would be occasioned by release from confinement, a court may consider the nature of the conduct that resulted in the initial commitment, the likelihood of relapse or a cure, history of substance or alcohol abuse, the effects of medication, the likelihood that the patient will discontinue medication without supervision, the length of confinement and treatment, the lapse of time since the underlying criminal acts and any other relevant factors that form a part of an insanity acquittee's psychological profile.

Id. On remand, in 2003 the state Supreme Court applied the David B. standard, and found that Richard S. was mentally ill and dangerous and required confinement in a non-secure facility.⁴ See In re Richard S., 6 A.D.3d 1039, 776 N.Y.S.2d 604, 605 (N.Y.App.Div.2004). The Appellate Division affirmed, concluding that Richard S. "meets all the criteria for retention in a nonsecure facility." Id. at 607. It found that the lower court's findings of mental illness and dangerousness were supported by a "strong preponderance of the credible evidence," and that the lower court implicitly concluded that Richard S. "is not cured, treatment is essential for his psychological welfare and the safety of others, and he is unable to comprehend the need for such treatment." Id. It rejected as "without merit" Richard S.'s contention that his continued confinement is improper absent a showing of "volitional impairment" or difficulty controlling his behavior. Id. The New York Court of Appeals dismissed Richard S.'s appeal of that decision. In re Richard S., 3 N.Y.3d 700, 785 N.Y.S.2d 26, 818 N.E.2d 668 (N.Y.2004) (table decision).

Richard S. filed a habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York on December 6, 2004, challenging the state courts' failure to...