State v. Davis

• Decision Date: 18 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 49S02-0812-CR-657.,49S02-0812-CR-657.
• Citation: 898 N.E.2d 281
• Parties: STATE of Indiana, Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. Charlene DAVIS, Appellee (Defendant below).
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

898 N.E.2d 281

STATE of Indiana, Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. Charlene DAVIS, Appellee (Defendant below).

No. 49S02-0812-CR-657.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

December 18, 2008.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Cynthia L. Ploughe, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

Anna E. Onaitis, Marion County Public Defender Agency, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellee.

Gavin M. Rose, Kenneth J. Falk, ACLU of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae.

On Petition To Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-0706-CR-545.

RUCKER, Justice.

Today we examine the question of whether it is a violation of fundamental fairness to hold criminal charges over the head of an incompetent defendant who will never be able to stand trial. The answer in this case is yes.

Facts and Procedural History

Convinced her savings account was still active and contained a balance of over $300, Charlene Davis walked into a branch of Bank One on February 21, 2004, demanding a withdrawal. Becoming upset when told her account was closed, Davis produced a knife and began waiving it in the air. Bank employees activated a silent alarm and police officers arrived on the scene. When Davis ignored demands to drop the knife, an officer released a stream of CS spray to her face. Distracted, Davis was pushed to the floor and subdued. She was arrested and thereafter charged in Marion Superior Court with criminal recklessness as a Class D felony.

On April 21, 2004, counsel on Davis' behalf filed a Motion for Competency Evaluation alleging, among other things, that she "`has reason to believe that Defendant may be unable to assist counsel in preparation for her trial and may be unable to understand the nature of the proceedings against her." App. at 19. The trial court granted the motion and appointed two psychiatrists to conduct the evaluations, Dr. Ned Mausbaum and Dr. Dwight Schuster. They did so on different days in May 2004 while Davis was in custody at the Marion County Jail. Both concluded that she was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was not competent to stand trial. Dr. Mausbaum also opined that Davis was of unsound mind at the time of the offense and was not able to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct.¹ Supp. App. at 8. As a consequence, on May 24, 2004 the trial court ordered Davis committed to the Division of Mental Health and Addiction ("DMHA") to be confined in an appropriate psychiatric institution. App. at 26.

Davis was transferred to Evansville State Hospital on June 10, 2004. On August 20, 2004, staff psychiatrist Dr. Brad Mallory evaluated Davis and diagnosed her as suffering from "Psychotic Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified" and concluded, among other things, "I do not believe there is a substantial probability that she will attain the ability to assist in the preparation of her defense in the foreseeable future." Supp. App. at 16 (emphasis in original). In a letter to the trial court accompanying the doctor's report, the hospital's superintendent advised the court that "[a] Petition for a Regular Commitment will be filed in Vanderburgh Superior Court." Supp. App. at 17. The petition was filed and granted on September 3, 2004.

Although the record tells us nothing about why or when, at some point between September 3, 2004, and March 1, 2007, Davis was transferred from Evansville State Hospital to Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital.² In a letter to the trial court dated March 1, 2007, Dr. Beth Pfau, Larue Carter's Chief Medical Officer, advised the court among other things, "It is my psychiatric opinion that [Davis] cannot be restored to competence.... I believe she is too guarded and paranoid to ever be able to work with her legal counsel." App. at 32.

On March 27, 2007, counsel on behalf of Davis filed a motion to dismiss the charges pending against her arguing that Davis' hospitalization was tantamount to incarceration and that Davis had already accrued more days than the maximum possible confinement she could receive should she eventually be convicted. After a hearing the trial court granted the motion. The State appealed and the Court of Appeals reversed the judgment of the trial court. State v. Davis, 875 N.E.2d 779 (Ind.Ct. App.2007). We now grant transfer and affirm the trial court's judgment.

Discussion

I.

Due process precludes placing a defendant on trial while she is incompetent. Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162, 171, 95 S.Ct. 896, 43 L.Ed.2d 103 (1975); see also Wallace v. State, 486 N.E.2d 445, 453 (Ind.1985) ("An accused has a constitutional right not to be tried if he does not have the ability to comprehend the proceedings or to assist in his defense.") (citation omitted). In this jurisdiction the test for determining competency is "whether the defendant has sufficient present ability to consult with defense counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding, and whether the defendant has a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings against him." Adams v. State, 509 N.E.2d 812, 814 (Ind.1987) (citations omitted). To protect a defendant's due process right not to be placed on trial while incompetent, Indiana Code § 35-36-3-1 provides:

(a) If at any time before the final submission of any criminal case to the court or the jury trying the case, the court has reasonable grounds for believing that the defendant lacks the ability to understand the proceedings and assist in the preparation of a defense, the court shall immediately fix a time for a hearing to determine whether the defendant has that ability. The court shall appoint two (2) or three (3) competent, disinterested: psychiatrists; psychologists endorsed by the Indiana state board of examiners in psychology as health service providers in psychology. At least one (1) of the individuals appointed under this subsection must be a psychiatrist.... The individuals who are appointed shall examine the defendant and testify at the hearing as to whether the defendant can understand the proceedings and assist in the preparation of the defendant's defense, (b) At the hearing, other evidence relevant to whether the defendant has the ability to understand the proceedings and assist in the preparation of the defendant's defense may be introduced. If the court finds that the defendant has the ability to understand the proceedings and assist in the preparation of the defendant's defense, the trial shall proceed. If the court finds that the defendant lacks this ability, it shall delay or continue the trial and order the defendant committed to the division of mental health and addiction....

I.C. § 35-36-3-1 (2004). Within ninety days after the defendant has been committed due to the lack of competency to stand trial, the superintendent of the institution where the defendant is committed is required to certify to the trial court whether the defendant has a substantial probability of attaining competency within the foreseeable future. Ind.Code § 35-36-3-3 (2004). If such probability does not exist, then the DMHA must initiate regular commitment proceedings under Indiana Code § 12-26-7-1 (2004).

The question presented in this case concerns the disposition of pending criminal charges when it becomes apparent the defendant is unlikely ever to regain competency to stand trial. Davis contends the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause dictates that her charges should be dismissed as a matter of law. Appellee's Br. at 2-3. The State counters, "No statute or rule gives the trial court the authority to dismiss criminal charges due to a defendant's continued incompetency." Appellant's Br. at 4.

Abuse of discretion is the appropriate standard for appellate review of a trial court's decision to dismiss a charging information. Sivels v. State, 741 N.E.2d 1197, 1202 (Ind.2001). Indiana Code § 35-34-1-4 (2004) provides a non-exclusive list of reasons allowing dismissal of an indictment or information. At least two of the reasons are constitutionally based: "The prosecution is barred by reason of a previous prosecution [addressing the Fifth Amendment prohibition on double jeopardy] ...," I.C. § 35-34-1-4(a)(7), and "The defendant has been denied the right to a speedy trial [addressing the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial] ...," I.C. § 35-34-1-4(a)(9). One of the reasons is open ended: "Any other ground that is a basis for dismissal as a matter of law." I.C. § 35-34-1-4(a)(11).

First, courts have the inherent authority to dismiss criminal charges where the prosecution of such charges would violate a defendant's constitutional rights. Subsections (a)(7) and (a)(9) are merely a legislative recognition of this authority. Second, the open ended catchall provision of subsection (a)(11) is recognition that there may be additional reasons for the dismissal of criminal charges. A violation of a defendant's constitutional right to due process certainly fits in that category. This of course raises the underlying questions in this case, namely whether any such right exists here and if so whether it has been violated.³

Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 92 S.Ct. 1845, 32 L.Ed.2d 435 (1972), is instructive. In that case the United States Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of a prior version of Indiana's statutes for pre-trial commitment of a criminal defendant. The defendant was mentally retarded, suffered a hearing disability, and could communicate only to a limited extent through sign language. Id. at 717, 92 S.Ct. 1845. After the defendant was indicted on two counts of robbery, the trial court found him incompetent to proceed and committed him to the State Department of Mental Health until sane. Id. at 719, 92 S.Ct. 1845. Defendant contended that, practically speaking, this was a commitment for life since he would never attain the competence required for trial. But this Court affirmed over the dissent of Justice DeBruler. Jackson v. State, 253 Ind. 487, 255 N.E.2d 515, 518 (...