U.S. v. Muhammad

• Citation: 165 F.3d 327
• Decision Date: 15 January 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-10960,98-10960
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ruth MUHAMMAD, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Page 327

165 F.3d 327

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ruth MUHAMMAD, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 98-10960.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Jan. 15, 1999.

Charles O. Dobbs, Fort Worth, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Karl Anthony Rupp, Dallas, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before GARWOOD, BARKSDALE and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

RHESA HAWKINS BARKSDALE, Circuit Judge:

For this expedited appeal from an order committing federal prisoner Ruth Muhammad to hospitalization for treatment, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4245, disposition having been by a magistrate judge, acting by written consent of the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), at issue are: whether the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction; the constitutionality of the preponderance of the evidence standard in § 4245(d); the sufficiency of the evidence; and whether the commitment violates Muhammad's right to free exercise of her religion under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb. We AFFIRM.

I.

Muhammad is serving a 63-month sentence in federal prison for robbing a bank in California in March 1997. (She had been released from a California state prison only a few days earlier.) On 3 March 1998, following her conviction on the bank robbery charge, Muhammad was examined by a Bureau of Prisons psychiatrist, who was of the opinion that Muhammad was then suffering from a mental disease or defect requiring custodial care and treatment in a suitable psychiatric hospital. Accordingly, on 4 March 1998, she was transferred to the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas.

But, on 9 April, Muhammad refused admission to the Psychiatric Unit. Therefore, on 17 April, the Government filed a "Petition to Determine Present Mental Condition of an Imprisoned Person, ... and for Appointment of Counsel and Qualified Examiner Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 4245 and 4247", seeking Muhammad's commitment for psychiatric care and treatment. On 22 April, the district court entered an agreed order referring the appointment of counsel request to a magistrate judge.

A consent to the transfer of that request had been signed by both the Assistant United States Attorney and, on behalf of Muhammad, by an Assistant Federal Public Defender. On 23 April, the magistrate judge appointed the Federal Public Defender to represent Muhammad, and ordered him to file a report stating whether Muhammad continued to object both to treatment and to being transferred to a suitable facility for that purpose.

On 11 June, a "Consent to Referral to Magistrate Judge ...", signed by the Assistant United States Attorney and by an Assistant Federal Public Defender (who also represents Muhammad on appeal) was filed. That Assistant Federal Public Defender, whose office is in California, had represented Muhammad there on the 1997 bank robbery charge, which resulted in her current imprisonment.

The consent stated that the Government, by and through the Assistant United States Attorney, and Muhammad, "by and through her attorney", stipulated and agreed that

they consent to a hearing and determination to be had by United States Magistrate Judge ..., on the petition to determine present mental condition of an imprisoned person as requested by the petition filed by [the Government]. [The Government] and [Muhammad] consent that this case be transferred for all purposes to the United States Magistrate Judge ... for any determinations to be made in this case as requested by the petition of [the Government].

Pursuant to that consent, the district court ordered that the case be "reassigned and transferred to" the magistrate judge "for the conduct of all further proceedings and the entry of judgment".

On 12 August, the magistrate judge conducted a hearing on the Government's petition. The magistrate judge granted the petition and "committed [Muhammad] to the custody of the United States Attorney General for hospitalization for treatment in a suitable facility until [she] is no longer in need of such custody for care or treatment or until the expiration of her sentence of imprisonment, whichever occurs earlier".

The next day, the magistrate judge denied Muhammad's motion for a stay of the commitment order pending appeal. Our court denied Muhammad's similar motion, but granted her motion to expedite her appeal.

II.

Muhammad contends (1) that the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction; (2) that the preponderance of the evidence standard in § 4245(d) is unconstitutional because due process instead requires clear and convincing evidence; (3) that the Government failed to establish that Muhammad posed a present danger to herself or others; and (4) that Muhammad's commitment violates her right to free exercise of her religion under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. ^*

A.

Muhammad presents three bases in support of her claim that the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction (authority) to enter the commitment order: (1) that Muhammad did not personally consent to the disposition of the petition by the magistrate judge; (2) that § 4245 commitment proceedings are not "civil" matters; and (3) that Article III forbids even consensual reference of a § 4245 proceeding to a magistrate judge.

The statutory authority for disposition of this matter by the magistrate judge, rather than his preparing a report and recommendation for disposition by the district judge, is found in 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), which provides in pertinent part:

(1) Upon the consent of the parties, a ... magistrate [judge] ... may conduct any or all proceedings in a jury or nonjury civil matter and order the entry of judgment in the case, when specially designated to exercise such jurisdiction by the district court or courts he serves....

(2) If a magistrate [judge] is designated to exercise civil jurisdiction under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the clerk of court shall, at the time the action is filed, notify the parties of the availability of a magistrate [judge] to exercise such jurisdiction. The decision of the parties shall be communicated to the clerk of court. Thereafter, either the district court judge or the magistrate [judge] may again advise the parties of the availability of the magistrate [judge], but in so doing, shall also advise the parties that they are free to withhold consent without adverse substantive consequences. Rules of court for the reference of civil matters to magistrate[ ] [judges] shall include procedures to protect the voluntariness of the parties' consent.

28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1) and (2) (emphasis added).

Needless to say, "when the magistrate [judge] enters judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1), absence of the appropriate consent and reference (or special designation) order results in a lack of jurisdiction (or at least fundamental error that may be complained of for the first time on appeal) ". Mendes Junior Int'l Co. v. M/V Sokai Maru, 978 F.2d 920, 924 (5th Cir.1992) (citations omitted; emphasis added). Earlier, in Archie v. Christian, 808 F.2d 1132 (5th Cir.1987) (en banc), our court had exercised its supervisory powers to require that, "before commencing the actual trial of any civil case in which a magistrate [judge] is to preside pursuant to the authority of 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), jury or nonjury, [the magistrate judge] shall inquire on the record of each party whether he has filed consent to the magistrate [judge]'s presiding and shall receive an affirmative answer from each on the record before proceeding further". Id. at 1137 (footnote omitted).

As noted, Muhammad, by and through her attorney, consented to disposition of this matter by the magistrate judge. Now, by and through that same attorney, she challenges the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge to act in the very manner to which she had consented. No authority need be cited for the long-established rules that personal, but not subject matter, jurisdiction can be waived; that we examine subject matter jurisdiction throughout a proceeding, concomitantly raising the issue sua sponte if need be; and that we freely review jurisdictional questions.

That said, we note that the Government does not contest Muhammad's, in essence, framing this issue as one of subject matter jurisdiction. Along that line, the Government does not urge that, in the light of the consent in district court, Muhammad is precluded from raising this issue here. This is in line with the above-quoted passages from Mendes Junior Int'l Co. and Archie.

We proceed in the same fashion. See, e.g., Archie, 808 F.2d at 1134. This notwithstanding, we are troubled greatly by counsel filing the consent, for and on behalf of his client, in district court, then participating in the commitment proceeding without any objection or other notice that the magistrate judge lacked jurisdiction, and then making that claim, albeit one of jurisdiction, for the first time on appeal.

In short, this issue should have been presented in district court for a host of obvious reasons; these include ensuring that Muhammad received the most expeditious treatment (should she be found in need of same), and judicial efficiency and economy. While we do not question counsel's good faith in presenting the issue at this late date, we caution/note the obvious: this is no way to proceed. This issue should have been raised when this proceeding began approximately nine months ago. Cf. Carter v. Sea Land Servs., Inc., 816 F.2d 1018 (5th Cir.1987), concerning a pre-trial attempt to withdraw consent to trial before a magistrate judge. Our court stated:

We are not persuaded that a litigant has such a right. We find nothing in the statute or the legislative history that requires continuing expressions of consent before a magistrate [judge] can exercise authority under a valid reference. Nor will we accept the slippery-slope invitation to read into the...