State ex rel. Walton v. Casey

• Decision Date: 22 May 1979
• Docket Number: No. 14240,14240
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE ex rel. Lewis WALTON v. Charles Patrick CASEY, Judge of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.

Page 114

258 S.E.2d 114

163 W.Va. 208

STATE ex rel. Lewis WALTON v. Charles Patrick CASEY, Judge of the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.

No. 14240.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

May 22, 1979.

Rehearing Denied June 14, 1979.

Syllabus by the Court

1. A criminal trial is unwarranted when pre-trial psychiatric examinations clearly reveal by a preponderance of the evidence, that the accused at the time the crime was committed, was not criminally responsible for his acts.

2. W.Va.Code, 27-6A-2(c) requires a court to dismiss criminal charges against a defendant if he is found incompetent to stand trial after six months' court-ordered hospitalization plus an additional three months if requested by the hospital staff. The dismissal may be stayed ten days to allow civil commitment proceedings to be instituted pursuant to Code, 27-5-1.

John A. Amick, Charleston, for relator.

Cletus B. Hanley, Pros. Atty., Spencer P. Simpson, Betty L. Caplan, Asst. Pros. Attys., Kanawha County, Charleston, for respondent.

HARSHBARGER, Justice:

Walton was arrested April 4, 1975, for murder. On April 7 he had a preliminary hearing and was bound to the Kanawha County grand jury, which indicted him. On April 16 his counsel moved, and the trial court ordered Per W.Va.Code, 27-6A-1(a) ¹ mental examination of the defendant by two Charleston psychiatrists, Drs. Rossman and Smith, whose reports were filed in June and July.

Further examination was ordered at Spencer State Hospital, where defendant was committed by authority of Code, 27-6A-1(b), ² and the reports of this examination were made in August.

Although no record of a finding by the court of competency was made "Within five days after the receipt of the report on the issue of competency to stand trial * * *" as prescribed by Code, 27-6A-1(d), a competency hearing was held November 14. The evidence by the medical experts seemed to be contradictory, or at least of differing velocity. Its substance, however, was that Walton was chronically schizoid, paranoid type, homicidal.

Dr. William B. Rossman's report of July 10, 1975, concluded:

"My feelings about Mr. Walton are (1) he is mentally ill with a chronic psychotic illness schizophrenia-like in its manifestations. I believe he was this way when the alleged crime was committed. Further I believe this prisoner cannot assist his attorney in preparation for his defense. In a word, the prisoner is incompetent mentally now and was this way at the time of the alleged crime."

Dr. Ralph Smith, Jr.'s June, 1975 report concluded: "Thus I submit that he is incompetent to stand trial at this time, that he was psychotic at the time of the alleged crime, and that the crime is partially a product of his mental illness."

Donald R. Swick, a clinical psychologist who tested Walton on referral by Dr. Smith, reported of his May 6, 1975 examination, that Walton's ". . . mental condition would curtail effectiveness in assisting a defense attorney, and classifies him as incompetent."

Dr. Rosalia C. Galvez of Spencer Hospital wrote on August 13:

"Dear Judge Casey:

We have completed our studies on the above-named individual, who was admitted to this hospital pursuant to an order of your court.

In the opinion of the staff, Lewis Walton is not competent to stand trial, in that he is suffering from a chronic mental illness. Our diagnosis is Psychosis with Brain Trauma. We recommend that he be maintained in this hospital and, with the permission of the court, we will institute proceedings for civil commitment. For your information we are enclosing a copy of our admission note and staff conference note.

If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Very truly yours,

Rosalia C. Galvez, M.D.

Asst. Clinical Director."

We note that Dr. Galvez recommended civil commitment, and that Spencer staff conference notes of August 12 resulting from evaluation in "staff" by Doctors Galvez, A. Famularcano, P. Famularcano, Figueroa, Rugonfalvy, Rajgurn, Mr. Earles, Mr. DeMoss, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Goff, and Mrs. Carpenter, of the Spencer facility, concluded: "Patient is mentally ill and not competent to stand trial. Recommend civil commitment."

Dr. Charles C. Weise examined Walton also, and reported on May 23, 1975:

"At the time of the alleged crime, April 4, 1975, I feel Mr. Walton was suffering from a mental illness, that he was psychotic and that the illness was Schizophrenia, paranoid type, I feel that this mental illness did not cause him to lack the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act of murder. I feel that mental illness did cause him to lack the capacity to conform his actions to the requirements of the law.

It should be noted, in Mr. Walton's case, there have been threats and aggressive actions of one type or another over a period of years and that no psychiatric treatment to date has been successful to modify this type of behavior. Mr. Walton still has homicidal and probably suicidal impulses. He is a danger to himself and to the community. It is my opinion, at the present time, there is no type of psychiatric or medical treatment that will result in any significant long term improvement in Mr. Walton's case except life time hospitalization or placement in a sheltered and protected type of situation with life time maintenance medication. I know that this type of hospitalization has been viewed by others as punishment, however, in Mr. Walton's case, I feel such a hospitalization, along with maintenance chemotherapy, would allow him to be free of psychotic behavior and thinking more of the time and therefore his life would be more comfortable for him. This would also be a means of avoiding the obvious danger he will be to society if he should in the future be required to function independently."

When Dr. Smith reexamined Walton on November 25, 1975, the prisoner's reaction to him was that he suspected Dr. Smith was trying to kill him. "I have now been included in his delusional system", Smith rather forlornly wrote.

Weise by court direction reexamined Walton January 19, 1976. He found that although Walton ". . . remains in a delusional state and that he remains agitated and overtly psychotic. . . . It is my impression at this time that Mr. Walton is able to understand the nature of the charges against him. He is able to cooperate with his lawyer in his own defense. . . ."

Weise did not recant nor even mention his previous opinion that at the time of the killing Walton lacked ". . . capacity to conform his actions to the requirements of the law."

On April 27, 1976 Doctors Weise, Smith and Rossman again examined Walton at the trial court's request, and reported:

"This is to certify that we the undersigned jointly examined Louis (sic) Walton and as a result of our psychiatric examination, we find Mr. Walton to be overtly psychotic. We feel that he is at this time unable to understand the nature of the charges against him and that he is unable to cooperate with his attorney in his own defense."

Walton remained institutionalized until September, 1977, when at a reported conference between the trial judge, the Kanawha County prosecuting attorney, Walton and his lawyer, and Dr. Andrew S. Wachtel, Superintendent at Spencer State Hospital, the court carefully and patiently discussed the options available...