State ex rel. Baumruk v. Belt, 79861

• Decision Date: 24 February 1998
• Docket Number: No. 79861,79861
• Parties: STATE ex rel. Kenneth BAUMRUK, Relator, v. Honorable Ronald M. BELT, Judge, Circuit Court, Macon County, Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

Page 443

964 S.W.2d 443

STATE ex rel. Kenneth BAUMRUK, Relator, v. Honorable Ronald M. BELT, Judge, Circuit Court, Macon

County, Respondent.

No. 79861.

Supreme Court of Missouri,

En Banc.

Feb. 24, 1998.

Patrick J. Berrigan, Kansas City, Larry Bagsby, St. Charles, for relator.

John R. Lasater, Dean P. Waldemer, James J. Redmond, Asst. Pros. Attys., Clayton, for respondent.

Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Karen King Mitchell, Hugh L. Marshall, Asst. Attys. Gen., Jefferson City, for Mo. Atty. Gen. as amicus curiae.

COVINGTON, Judge.

The issue before this Court is whether section 552.020.10(6), RSMo 1994, requires respondent to dismiss the criminal charges pending against relator, Kenneth Baumruk. Because the plain meaning of section 552.020.10(6) requires the dismissal of the criminal charges against relator, this Court makes the alternative order in mandamus peremptory as amended.

On May 5, 1992, relator attended a proceeding for the dissolution of his marriage in the St. Louis County courthouse. It is alleged that during this hearing relator shot and killed his wife. It is also alleged that relator shot and wounded his lawyer, his wife's lawyer, a court bailiff, and a court security officer. Police shot relator nine times, twice in the head. Doctors surgically removed part of the right frontal lobe of his brain in order to save his life.

The state charged relator with first degree murder and multiple counts of first degree assault and armed criminal action. Before trial, relator filed a "Motion for Commitment of the Accused for Lack of Competency to Proceed." Respondent ordered a mental competency evaluation of relator, pursuant to section 552.020.2. On January 24 and January 27, 1994, the trial court conducted a competency hearing. The court found that relator suffered from organic personality dementia, which rendered him incompetent to stand trial. The trial court ordered relator committed to the custody of the director of the department of mental health, pursuant to section 552.020.8. A second hearing was held a year and a half later after relator had been reevaluated pursuant to section 552.020.10(1). At that hearing, the trial court found not only that relator was incompetent to stand trial, but also that there was "no substantial probability that [he would] be mentally fit to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future."

Pursuant to chapter 475, Fulton State Hospital subsequently filed a "Petition for Appointment of Guardian and Conservator and Motion for Authorization to Admit Ward to a Mental Health Facility" in the probate division of the Circuit Court of Callaway County. Relator contested the chapter 475 guardianship proceeding and requested a jury trial. The jury unanimously found that relator did not need a court-appointed guardian or conservator because the state did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that relator was disabled, partially disabled, incapacitated, or partially incapacitated.

Following the guardianship proceeding, relator moved for the trial court to dismiss the criminal charges against him. He claimed that section 552.020.10(6) directs the trial court to dismiss charges against a mentally incompetent defendant once guardianship proceedings have been filed and the probate court makes its findings. The trial court denied the motion.

Relator filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District. The court of appeals denied the petition. Relator then petitioned this Court to issue a writ of mandamus ordering the trial court to dismiss the criminal charges against him and to discharge him from custody.

According to the United States Supreme Court, the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution mandates that a criminal defendant have the right not to be tried while legally incompetent. In Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 171-73, 95 S.Ct. 896, 903-905, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975), the United States Supreme Court held that "a person whose mental condition is such that he lacks the capacity to understand the nature and proceedings against him, to consult with counsel, and to assist in preparing his defense may not be subjected to trial." The United States Supreme Court also has addressed the difficult constitutional issues facing the courts when a defendant is deemed incompetent to stand trial for the foreseeable future. In Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 92 S.Ct. 1845, 32 L.Ed.2d 435 (1972), the United States Supreme Court concluded that a person charged by a state with a criminal offense who is committed solely on account of his incapacity to proceed to trial cannot be held more than the reasonable period of time necessary to determine whether there is a substantial probability that he will attain that capacity in the foreseeable future. Id. at 738, 92 S.Ct. at 1858. The Court also found that a criminal defendant could not be subject to civil commitment standards that were different than those applicable to non-defendants. Id. at 730, 92 S.Ct. at 1854. The Court held that if a defendant is not mentally fit to proceed to trial and there is no substantial probability that the defendant will attain such capacity in the foreseeable future, the trial court must either institute the "customary civil commitment proceeding ... or release the defendant." Id.; see also Ex parte Kent, 490 S.W.2d 649, 651 (Mo. banc 1973)(this Court suggesting procedures, in light of the Jackson decision, for the trial court to follow in dealing with incompetent defendants who do not have a substantial probability of attaining such capacity in the foreseeable future). In Jackson, the Court refused to rule on whether the Constitution required the dismissal of the criminal charges pending against the defendant. Jackson, 406 U.S. at 740, 92 S.Ct. at 1859.

The Missouri legislature also has been cognizant of the constitutional concerns related to incompetent defendants. Section 552.020 explicitly recognizes the right of mentally incapacitated persons who cannot understand the proceedings against them or act in their own defense not to be tried for so long as the incapacity endures. The statute sets out the procedures by which a defendant is identified as mentally incompetent, the steps the trial court must take to determine the nature and duration of the state's subsequent custody of that defendant, and the instances in which the criminal charges against the defendant must be dismissed.

The statute first states that "[w]henever any judge has reasonable cause to believe that the accused lacks mental fitness to proceed," he or she must appoint at least one psychiatrist or psychologist to examine the defendant. Section 552.020.2. The appointed medical professional is to provide the court with a report that sets out detailed findings and opinions regarding the mental status of the accused and that recommends a course of action. Section 552.020.2-.3. Upon the recommendation of the medical professional, the court may order the accused to be committed "pending determination of the issue of mental fitness to proceed." Section 552.020.5.

The determination of mental fitness to proceed is made at a competency hearing at which the trial court reviews the reports and testimony of the various examiners. Section 552.020.7-.8. If, after reviewing this evidence, the court determines that the accused is mentally unfit for trial, the court shall commit the accused to the director of the department of mental health. Section 552.020.8.

Six months after the accused is committed at the initial competency hearing, the court shall order a detailed examination of the accused to ascertain whether he is mentally fit to proceed and, if not, whether there is a substantial probability that he will attain the mental fitness to proceed to trial in the foreseeable future. Section 552.020.10(1). Upon written request, both the accused and the state shall be entitled to an examination of the accused by a qualified medical professional. Section 552.020.10(2). The court uses these examinations to make its determination, or, if any such opinion is contested, the court shall hold a hearing on the issue. Section 552.020.10(1)-(3). If the court conducts a second hearing, pursuant to section 552.020.10(3), at the second hearing, the same procedures are employed as in the first hearing. If the court determines that the accused is mentally fit for trial, criminal proceedings against the accused shall proceed. Section 552.020.10(4). If the court determines that the accused is not mentally fit for trial, but that there is a substantial probability that the accused will be mentally fit to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future, then the court shall continue the commitment for a period not longer than six months, after which the court shall reinstitute competency proceedings as outlined above. Section 552.020.10(5).

Section 552.020.10(6), which governs disposition of this case, sets forth the procedures the court must follow if the court determines that the accused is both mentally unfit to proceed to trial and has no substantial probability of regaining competence in the reasonably foreseeable future. Section 552.020.10(6) provides:

If it is found that the accused lacks mental fitness to proceed and there is no substantial probability that the accused will be mentally fit to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future, the court shall dismiss the charges and the accused shall be discharged, unless proper proceedings have been filed under chapter 632 or chapter 475, RSMo, in which case those sections and no others will be applicable. The probate division of the circuit court shall have concurrent jurisdiction over the accused upon the filing of a proper pleading to determine if the accused shall be involuntarily detained under chapter 632, RSMo, or to determine if the accused shall be declared incapacitated under chapter 475, RSMo, and approved for admission by the guardian under ...