U.S. v. Baker

• Citation: 807 F.2d 1315
• Decision Date: 29 December 1986
• Docket Number: No. 86-5455,86-5455
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Junior BAKER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1315

807 F.2d 1315

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Junior BAKER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 86-5455.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Nov. 13, 1986.

Decided Dec. 29, 1986.

Henry A. Martin (argued), Federal Public Defender, Nashville, Tenn., for defendant-appellant.

Joe B. Brown (argued), U.S. Atty., Nashville, Tenn., Harold McDonough, for plaintiff-appellee.

Before KENNEDY and NORRIS, Circuit Judges, and CONTIE, Senior Circuit judge.

CONTIE, Senior Circuit Judge.

Robert Junior Baker is appealing from two district court orders. The first order held that Baker did not have the mental competency to participate in the probation revocation proceedings against him, and placed him in the temporary custody of the United States Attorney General for treatment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4241(d). In its second order, the district court placed Baker in the continued custody of the Attorney General pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4246(a); ¹ having found Baker to be suffering from a mental disease or defect and that his release would pose a substantial risk of injury to another person, Baker was ordered to be held in a federal mental health treatment facility for an indefinite period of time.

Appellant argues that his initial commitment pursuant to section 4241 was invalid because he did not lack the mental capacity to understand the nature of the probation revocation proceedings and he was competent to waive his right to such proceedings. Regarding the district court's second commitment order, appellant asserts that he was denied his liberty without due process, that the district court lacked the power to commit him in that the court failed to adhere to the procedures outlined in section 4246(a), and that the order violated the Tenth Amendment.

For the reasons stated below, we hold that: (1) the district court's initial commitment of Baker was valid only up to a period of four months; and (2) Baker's continued commitment pursuant to section 4246 was secured without statutory authority and in violation of his due process rights.

I.

Appellant herein, Robert Baker, was sentenced to nine-months incarceration on July 14, 1983, after pleading guilty to a charge of possessing an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. Sec. 5861(d). Appellant served five months and twenty-nine days of this sentence; the remaining time was suspended, and he was placed on probation for three years.

While still on probation, appellant was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Based on this arrest, as well as appellant's failure to contact and report to his probation officer as instructed, a probation violator's warrant was issued on August 23, 1985. Baker was taken into custody on September 4, 1985 pursuant to the warrant, and a probation revocation hearing was scheduled for September 20, 1985 before United States District Court Judge Thomas A. Higgins. At the September 20th hearing, Baker asserted through counsel that he wished to waive his right to challenge the probation revocation proceedings; rather, he would prefer to serve the remainder of his sentence so that he would not have to report to a probation officer in the future.

During the course of this hearing the government questioned Baker's mental competency to understand the nature of the probation revocation proceedings. Following an exchange between the district court and Baker, ² the court determined that it was necessary for Baker to undergo a psychiatric examination to ascertain whether he had the mental competency to waive his right to challenge the revocation of his probationary status. Baker's counsel did not raise an objection to having his client undergo this initial psychiatric examination.

On September 30, 1985, a second hearing was conducted. At this hearing the government maintained that Baker was not competent to proceed with the probation revocation hearing and that he should therefore be committed to the custody of the United States Attorney General and be placed in the care of a psychiatric facility pursuant to section 4241(d). The government relied on a report prepared by a psychiatrist, Dr. Kenner, which indicated that Baker was suffering from schizophrenia and was not competent to understand the proceedings against him. Dr. Kenner specifically reported that Baker believed that his only defense was somehow dependent on a replay of the President's news broadcasts and that the court reporter was a messenger from God who could save him.

In response, Baker's counsel asserted that Baker was competent enough to understand the nature of a probation revocation hearing; that is, that he understood that the probation revocation hearing would determine whether he stayed on probation or served his remaining sentence in jail. Although Baker's counsel acknowledged that Baker's overall competency was in question, he maintained that his client was sufficiently competent to comprehend the choice he faced and to make that choice. Baker was then questioned by his counsel and the court, and he consistently maintained that he would prefer to serve 60 days in jail than to remain on probation.

The district court thereafter concluded that Baker was "presently suffering from mental disease or defect rendering him incompetent mentally to understand, despite his assertions, the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him," that he was "a danger to himself and to society and that he [was] in desperate need of ... psychiatric treatment...." The court, relying on section 4241(d), placed Baker in the custody of the Attorney General and an order reflecting this decision was issued on October 1, 1985. Pursuant to the court's order, Baker was committed to a psychiatric hospital--the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina (hereinafter referred to as Butner)--"for such time as is necessary to determine whether there is a substantial probability that in the foreseeable future the defendant will attain the capacity to permit the proceedings to continue."

On March 6, 1986, the government filed a motion to dismiss the probation violator's warrant. There is nothing in the record which indicates that the government had filed any motion with the district court prior to this date or that a hearing had been held with respect to Baker's competency and continued commitment. The motion to dismiss noted that it was unlikely that Baker would attain competency in the foreseeable future so as to enable the probation revocation proceedings to continue. It was also noted that, were the motion granted, Baker would be placed in the custody of the state of Tennessee since there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest based on an alleged parole violation.

A hearing was held on this motion the following day, March 7th. At this hearing, the government pointed out to the court that Baker's condition had not improved, presumably because he was not taking medication. Further, Baker's psychiatric staff had determined that although Baker had refused to accept medication, they would not medicate Baker by force because he did not pose a threat of danger to himself or anyone at Butner. The government argued that its motion to dismiss was filed primarily because it did not believe it could show that Baker would pose a danger to others were he released, which was a prerequisite to continued civil commitment under section 4246. It was also noted that Baker had served more time than he would have had his probation been revoked. Baker did not oppose the government's motion.

The district court, before ruling on the motion, asked to hear from Dr. O'Brien, one of Butner's psychiatrists. In response to the court's questions, Dr. O'Brien testified that although Baker was not a threat to himself or anyone at Butner, he had threatened harm to his ex-wife and one of her relatives. Based on these threats, O'Brien opined that Baker would pose "a potential danger to someone in the community," and that he felt "uncomfortable with letting [Baker] out, back out into the community."

Dr. O'Brien further explained, in response to questions raised by Baker's counsel, that Baker's threats toward his ex-wife stemmed from Baker's belief that someone had been harming and possibly molesting his daughters. O'Brien acknowledged that he did not know whether Baker's daughters in fact had been molested and that no investigation had been conducted to verify or refute Baker's assertion; ³ however, were Baker's belief based in fact rather than delusion, Dr. O'Brien agreed that Baker's angry response would not have been inappropriate.

Following O'Brien's testimony, the government withdrew its motion to dismiss. Thereafter, the court ruled from the bench that Baker was to remain in the custody of the Attorney General pursuant to section 4246 because he was suffering from a mental disease or defect and that his release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person. An order was issued to this effect on March 10, 1986. The March 10th order also stated that Baker was to be hospitalized for treatment until his release would not pose a risk of injury to another or until "it can be certified to this court that a state facility will assume the custody, care, and treatment of the defendant...." In the meantime, the court ordered that the superintendent of Butner was "to determine whether a certificate as described in Title 18, United States Code, Section 4246(a) can be filed with the court...."

On March 18, 1986, appellant filed a motion for a thirty-day extension to file a notice of appeal which was granted by the district court. On April 2, 1986, appellant filed two motions with the district court. One motion requested the court to reconsider and set aside its March 10th order and to grant a new hearing. The other requested the court to set aside the March 10th order, to dismiss all the proceedings against Baker and to release him from...