State ex rel. Jones v. Warmuth

• Decision Date: 25 November 1980
• Docket Number: No. 14893,14893
• Parties: STATE ex rel. David Alan JONES v. Honorable Richard A. WARMUTH, Judge, etc.
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court

Page 446

272 S.E.2d 446

165 W.Va. 825

STATE ex rel. David Alan JONES v. Honorable Richard A. WARMUTH, Judge, etc.

No. 14893.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Nov. 25, 1980.

Syllabus by the Court

In an extradition proceeding, in order to give meaning to a fugitive's right to test the legality of his arrest on the issue of his identity and presence in the demanding state at the time the crime was allegedly committed, and to give meaning to his right to have legal counsel, it is essential to due process under Article III, Section 10 of the West Virginia Constitution that such person has sufficient mental competency to understand the proceeding and to consult with and assist his counsel in such proceeding.

Schrader, Stamp & Recht and Arthur M. Recht, Wheeling, Madden, Hughes & Whorton and G. Charles Hughes, Moundsville, for relator.

Chauncey H. Browning, Atty. Gen., Gregory W. Bailey, Richard S. Glaser, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., Charleston, for respondent.

MILLER, Justice.

In this petition for prohibition the relator, David Alan Jones, raises the issue of whether his claim of insanity may be considered as grounds for opposing extradition.

The relator was charged by the State of Oklahoma with the commission of second degree murder. The Oklahoma felony information was filed on May 30, 1979, charging the relator with the commission of the offense, within the State of Oklahoma, on May 17, 1979. Upon notification from Oklahoma authorities, a magistrate of Marshall County, West Virginia, issued a warrant for the arrest of the relator. Pursuant to the Marshall County warrant, the relator was taken into custody.

On June 25, 1979, the Governor of Oklahoma requested the relator's extradition from West Virginia, in accordance with the provisions of W.Va.Code, 5-1-7, in order to bring the relator to trial in Oklahoma.

An extradition hearing was held in the Circuit Court of Marshall County on July 31, 1979. Counsel for the relator stated his intention to challenge extradition by writ of habeas corpus under W.Va.Code, 5-1-9, and requested the Circuit Court to order a psychiatric examination of the relator. The psychiatric examination was alleged to be necessary, in light of the relator's history of mental illness, to determine if he would be capable of assisting his counsel in the challenge to extradition.

The prosecuting attorney agreed that the relator's record reflected a history of mental illness, and did not oppose the motion for psychiatric examination. ¹ Consequently, the Circuit Court granted the motion for an examination to determine competency and directed that the relator undergo psychiatric examination by Dr. David Hill and psychological examination by Dr. Robert Mendelson. The court instructed that the examination focus upon the relator's "competency to assist his counsel in preparing a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and further as to his competency to participate and assist his counsel in a hearing in such a Habeas Corpus proceeding."

After his examination, Dr. Hill concluded that the relator's mental state was such that "(i)t may be difficult for him to assist his counsel" and that his loss of memory "might also hinder his ability" to assist in his own defense. Dr. Mendelson, on the other hand, found that the relator was capable of assisting his counsel.

In light of the apparent conflict in the test results, the relator moved, on February 25, 1980, for an additional, independent psychiatric evaluation. The Honorable Richard A. Warmuth, who had replaced the Honorable Stephen D. Narick in the case, granted the motion for further independent evaluation.

Upon independent evaluation, Dr. Jonathan Himmelhoch concluded that the relator was "presently unable to assist his lawyers regarding his presence in Oklahoma or regarding the nature of his behavior when he was there."

At a subsequent hearing on May 5, 1980, the prosecutor raised the question of whether the issue of mental competency is properly within the scope of inquiry in extradition proceedings. Upon considering opposing counsels' memoranda of law, the court ruled on May 29, 1980, that competency to participate and to assist counsel in an extradition proceeding is "irrelevant and cannot be raised by the defendant." ²

The relator then applied to this Court for a writ of prohibition in order to prevent the Circuit Court of Marshall County from proceeding further without determining first whether the relator is competent to participate and assist counsel in the extradition proceeding. ³

Article IV, Section 2 of the United States Constitution sets forth the basis for extradition between the states:

"A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime."

Because of the constitutional basis for extradition proceedings, the United States Supreme Court has established limitations on the scope of the inquiry that may be pursued in a state court by an accused in resisting extradition. In Michigan v. Doran, 439 U.S. 282, 289, 99 S.Ct. 530, 535, 58 L.Ed.2d 521, 527 (1978), the Court stated:

"Once the governor has granted extradition, a court considering release on habeas corpus can do no more than decide (a) whether the extradition documents on their face are in order; (b) whether the petitioner has been charged with a crime in the demanding state; (c) whether the petitioner is the person named in the request for extradition; and (d) whether the petitioner is a fugitive. These are historic facts readily verifiable."

We have recognized substantially the same limitations in Syllabus Point 1 of State ex rel. Gonzales v. Wilt, W.Va., 256 S.E.2d 15 (1979), and Syllabus Point 2 of State ex rel. Mitchell v. Allen, 155 W.Va. 530, 185 S.E.2d 355 (1971), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 946, 92 S.Ct. 2048, 32 L.Ed.2d 333 (1972):

"In habeas corpus proceedings instituted to determine the validity of custody where petitioners are being held in connection with extradition proceedings, the asylum state is limited to considering whether the extradition papers are in proper form; whether there is a criminal charge pending in the demanding state; whether the petitioner was present in the demanding state at the time the criminal offense was committed; and whether the petitioner is the person named in the extradition papers. ⁴

The relator's argument in the present case is that, in order to conduct a fair inquiry into these aspects of extradition, the relator must be competent to understand the nature of the proceedings against him and be able to assist his counsel on his own behalf. The competence of the relator to assist his counsel would be particularly relevant to those factual issues where the relator's own knowledge is necessary: his presence in the demanding state at the time the offense was committed, and the identity of the relator as the person named in the extradition papers.

This issue is new to us and rarely has been raised or discussed by other courts. The State refers to a number of decisions for the proposition that mental competence is not a proper issue for consideration in an extradition proceeding. See Drew v. Thaw, 235 U.S. 432, 35 S.Ct. 137, 59 L.Ed. 302 (1914); Charlton v. Kelly, 229 U.S. 447, 33 S.Ct. 945, 57 L.Ed. 1274 (1913); Kellems v. Buchignani, 518 S.W.2d 788 (Ky.1975); State ex rel. Davey v. Owen, 133 Ohio St. 96, 12 N.E.2d 144 (Ohio 1937). These decisions, however, with the exception of Kellems, address the question of incompetence at the time the crime was committed, or a present incompetence to stand trial for those charges in the demanding state. They conclude that such insanity issue can and should be raised in the state which seeks to try the offense. They do not address the question of the relator's inability to participate and assist in the extradition proceeding itself. In Kellems, the issue was raised but the court in a two-paragraph opinion, over a vigorous dissent by two justices, indicated that since the insanity issue could be raised in the demanding state "that the question of the mental competence of a fugitive in extradition proceedings is not relevant." 518 S.W.2d at 788.

It is this issue of relevancy that was directly confronted by the Alaska Supreme Court in Kostic v. Smedley, 522 P.2d 535 (Alaska 1974). The court analyzed its extradition statute, which is similar to ours, and recognized the fugitive's absolute right to counsel to assist him in a challenge to the arrest and detention resulting from the initiation of extradition proceedings. The court concluded:

"In order to give meaning to the alleged fugitive's right to bring a habeas corpus action to test the legality of his arrest, and to give meaning to his right to demand and procure legal counsel, it is essential to due process that such person has sufficient mental competency to understand the proceedings and to consult with and assist his counsel in such proceedings." 522 P.2d at 538.

The Colorado Supreme Court addressed the question indirectly in Luker v. Koch, 176 Colo. 75, 489 P.2d 191 (1971), but found it unnecessary to decide the issue under the facts of the case:

"The only conceivable situation in which a court in the asylum state might be required to consider sanity would be one in which the petitioner is so incompetent as to be totally unable to assist his counsel in a habeas corpus proceeding in connection with a pending extradition. Such a situation is not presented by this record, and we need not therefore pass upon such an issue." 489 P.2d at 193-94.

In Locke v. Burns, W.Va., 238 S.E.2d 536 (1977), we acknowledged that an extradition proceeding involved a curtailment of liberty:

"At best extradition means an extended period of detention, involving custody pending administrative arrangements in two...