Taylor v. State
| Decision Date | 05 October 1972 |
| Docket Number | No. 27264,27264 |
| Parties | Kenneth J. TAYLOR v. The STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
1. The action of the trial judge in respect to pretrial investigation of the sanity of the accused, including his refusal to provide for examination by and assistance to the accused by a 'competent' psychiatrist selected by the accused, discloses no violation of due process or error for any other reason.
2. The trial judge did not err in refusing to admit in evidence the medical records of the accused maintained by the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, as proffered on behalf of the accused on trial of the special plea of insanity and the main trial.
3. The trial judge did not err in instructing the jury on the main trial with respect to the effect of voluntary drunkenness on criminal responsibility.
4. The trial judge did not err in allowing the State to present rebuttal evidence of the general reputation of the victim of the homicide.
Kenneth Jerry Taylor, Jr., appeals a conviction of murder and sentence to life imprisonment. It is undisputed that he shot and killed Francis Boykin Jones in Glynn County on October 4, 1969. Counsel for the accused states in his brief that the 'evidence adduced at the trial tended to show either a wanton and ruthless murder with revenge as its motive or an act by a man either insane or overmastered by a delusional compulsion.' Error is asserted (1) in failing to order an examination of the accused by a competent psychiatrist, (2) in failing to admit in evidence on trial of the special plea of insanity and the trial on guilt or innocence the medical records of the defendant from the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, (3) in charging the jury on the trial of guilt or innocence the law of voluntary drunkenness, and (4) in admitting evidence of the general reputation of the deceased on the trial of guilt or innocence.
Q. Robert Henry, St. Simons Island, Lloyd E. Grimes, Brunswick, for appellant.
Glenn Thomas, Jr., Dist. Atty., Jesup, Arthur K. Bolton, Atty. Gen., Harold N. Hill, Jr., Executive Asst. Atty. Gen., Courtney Wilder Stanton, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daniel I. MacIntyre, Atlanta, for appellee.
1. Before the hearing on the special plea of insanity counsel in behalf of the indigent accused moved that the accused 'be allowed to be examined by a physician of his choosing at a hospital or clinic in Glynn County and under such conditions as may be ordered by the court to provide a complete examination but with reasonable safeguards.' It further appears that although the trial judge denied the motion as made, he had already provided for an examination and report by 'two State appointed, or requested, or employed doctors' and 'a defense employed or obtained doctor,' without expense to the accused, and that there was only one 'Board' psychiatrist in the area, who declined to examine the accused. The examining physician on behalf of the accused had residency training in psychiatry. Counsel insisted, however, that due process of law would be met only if the accused was given 'a thorough examination by a competent psychiatrist,' contending, in effect, that this test would be met only upon examination by a 'Board' psychiatrist.
In Roach v. State, 221 Ga. 783, 147 S.E.2d 299 it appears that counsel prayed for an order directing that the accused be examined by a competent psychiatrist and that the psychiatrist be required to furnish an opinion of the mental condition of the accused. The trial judge refused to grant the prayer and on appeal the accused asserted error on the ruling. This court held (p. 784, 147 S.E.2d at 302): 'There is no statute of force in this State which requires the judge on application therefor to have one accused of crime mentally examined but assuming he has power to do so when such an examination is needed to comply with constitutional principles, we do not think the defendant in this case is entitled to a new trial because of the refusal of the judge to grant the order applied for.'
In Chadwick v. State, 221 Ga. 574, 146 S.E.2d 283, the accused asserted error on the ruling of the trial judge refusing to appoint a psychiatrist, which was held not to be meritorious. See also Moore v. State, 113 Ga.App. 738, 149 S.E.2d 492.
Research fails to disclose any appellate court ruling in this State dealing precisely with any implication, if there be any, arising from Roach, supra, that mental examination by a qualified psychiatrist is mandatory, assuming the trial judge has power to order an examination, to comply with constitutional principles, even where, as here, an indigent accused has requested an examination. In Lingo v. State, 224 Ga. 333, 341, 162 S.E.2d 1 this court did hold that the trial judge has the inherent right to investigate the sanity of an accused before trial, and that the trial judge did not err in ordering a psychiatric examination of the accused one day after arrest. This, of course, does not mean that investigation is mandatory, even if there be some reason to question sanity. Instead, the ruling implies the exercise of a sound discretion, with or without any motion on behalf of the accused.
In considering the refusal of a trial judge in a State court to appoint a psychiatrist to make a pre-trial examination, Mr. Justice...
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