U.S. v. Barth

• Decision Date: 20 June 1994
• Docket Number: No. 94-1020,94-1020
• Citation: 28 F.3d 253
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Leslie R. BARTH, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 253

28 F.3d 253

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Leslie R. BARTH, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 94-1020.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 15, 1994.

Decided June 20, 1994.

Christopher F. Droney, U.S. Atty., Calvin B. Kurimai, Asst. U.S. Atty., New Haven, CT, submitted papers for appellee.

John T. Walkley, Trumbull, CT, submitted papers for defendant-appellant.

Before: NEWMAN, Chief Judge, MAHONEY and CAMPBELL, ^* Circuit Judges.

JON O. NEWMAN, Chief Judge:

The narrow issue presented by this motion to dismiss an interlocutory appeal in a criminal case is whether a district court's order committing a defendant for a preliminary psychiatric evaluation is appealable under the collateral order doctrine. The issue arises on an appeal by Leslie R. Barth from the December 23, 1993, order of the District Court for the District of Connecticut (Alan Nevas, Judge). We conclude that the order is not appealable and therefore dismiss the appeal.

Background

Statutory framework. Title 18 contains several provisions that are pertinent to the issue before us. In general, these provisions establish two somewhat similar sets of procedures applicable to unsentenced defendants whose mental condition is in question. The first set of procedures contemplates a determination of whether the defendant is or was competent to stand trial. The second set of procedures contemplates a determination of whether the defendant should be hospitalized in lieu of imprisonment.

The "competency" procedure. Section 4241(a) provides that at any time after the commencement of a prosecution for an offense and prior to sentencing, the defendant may file a motion for a hearing to determine mental competency. Section 4241(b) provides that prior to such hearing, the court may order a psychiatric examination of the defendant. Section 4247(b) provides that for purposes of the examination ordered under section 4241(b), the court may commit the defendant for a period not to exceed 30 days, subject to an extension not to exceed 15 additional days.

Section 4241(d)(1) provides that if, after the section 4241(b) hearing, the court finds that the defendant is presently incompetent to stand trial, it shall commit the defendant for up to four months for a determination of whether there is a substantial probability that in the foreseeable future he will be able to stand trial. Section 4241(d)(2) authorizes an additional period of commitment if the court finds a substantial probability that within such period the defendant will regain the capacity to stand trial.

The "hospitalization-in-lieu-of-imprisonment" procedure. Section 4244(a) provides that a defendant found guilty of an offense may move, within ten days after the finding of guilty and before sentencing, for a hearing to determine present mental condition. This subsection also authorizes the court on its own motion to order such a hearing if there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect for the treatment of which he is in need of custody for care or treatment in a suitable facility.

Analogous to section 4241(b), section 4244(b) authorizes a psychiatric examination of the defendant prior to the section 4244(a) hearing. Section 4247(b) also makes the 30-day commitment authority, extendable to 45 days, available for examinations ordered under section 4244(b).

Section 4244(d) provides that if the court finds after the section 4244(a) hearing that the defendant is suffering from a mental disease or defect and that he should be committed to a suitable facility in lieu of imprisonment, the Court shall commit the defendant.

The procedure in Barth's case. Following his conviction in the District Court, Barth moved, before sentencing, for a psychiatric and psychological evaluation pursuant to section 4244 and for authorization to incur expenses for that purpose. The motion was granted. An examining psychiatrist reported that Barth was suffering from a chronic psychiatric disorder and that he had been suffering from such a disorder at the time of his offense and at the time of his trial. Based on this report, the defendant moved for a new trial. After a hearing on the motion, the District Court on December 23, 1993, entered an order committing Barth to the custody of the Attorney General for a psychiatric and psychological evaluation to be performed at the Federal Correctional Institution at Butner, North Carolina. We subsequently declined to stay the December 23 order.

Discussion

Since Barth's motion was filed more than ten days after he was found guilty, the Court's authority to inquire into mental competency presumably derived from the provision of section 4244 that authorizes the Court on its own motion to determine the present mental condition of a defendant found guilty but not yet sentenced. The Government suggests that the Court might also have been invoking the authority contained in section 4241 to determine competency to stand trial, an authority that is available at any time prior to sentencing. Whether initially using the authority of section 4241 or 4244 in ordering the defendant examined without a commitment, the Court thereafter received the report of the examining psychiatrist and concluded that a commitment was necessary in order to make an ultimate determination. Section 4247(b) authorized that commitment, whether the Court was acting pursuant to section 4241 or 4244.

The Court's commitment order explicitly relies on both sections 4241 and 4244. The Court found reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may be suffering from a mental disease that rendered him incompetent to stand trial (section 4241) and also found reasonable cause to believe that he may be suffering from a mental disease that requires...