U.S. v. Waters
| Decision Date | 07 April 1994 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 325,325 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Laurence G. WATERS, Defendant-Appellant. ocket 93-1039. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Andrew Baxter, Asst. U.S. Atty., Syracuse, N.Y. (Gary L. Sharpe, U.S. Atty. for the N.D. of N.Y., Michael C. Olmsted, Asst. U.S. Atty., Syracuse, N.Y., of counsel), for appellee.
John A. Cirando, Syracuse, N.Y. (D.J. & J.A. Cirando, Patrick J. Haber, Ivette Iza Zenner, Syracuse, N.Y., of counsel), for defendant-appellant.
Before: PIERCE, MINER and ALTIMARI, Circuit Judges.
Laurence G. Waters appeals from a January 8, 1993 judgment of conviction and sentence of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Howard G. Munson, Judge ). On November 13, 1991, Waters, having once been committed to a mental institution, was charged with several counts of possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) (1988). On September 25, 1992, Waters pleaded guilty to Count One of the indictment. On January 8, 1993, he was sentenced to serve a two-year term of probation, fined $2,500 and a special assessment of $50, and ordered to participate in a mental health treatment program. Waters appeals from the conviction and sentence.
On November 13, 1991, Waters was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern Following the interview with Waters, the ATF discovered that he had been involuntarily hospitalized at St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center on November 8, 1979, on a Two-Physicians Certificate, in accordance with New York Mental Hygiene Law Sec. 9.27(a), which states:
District of New York on five counts of violating the federal gun control statute. The indictment charged that on or about May 17, 1991, Waters "knowingly possessed a firearm in or affecting interstate commerce ... having then previously been committed to a mental institution." The sequence of events leading to the indictment began when Waters sent two letters to the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ("ATF") between 1989 and 1991 which claimed knowledge of the location of weapons and firearms. 2 Upon receipt of the letters, the ATF commenced an investigation. On May 8, 1991, an ATF special agent interviewed Waters at his residence. During the interview, Waters displayed a cache of weapons to the agent: six rifles, three shotguns, one machine gun, and a large quantity of ammunition. Waters also discussed subversive activities, espionage, the Central Intelligence Agency, and "the company." After the interview, Waters sent a letter to the ATF in which he stated: "ATF regulations concerning in the service of the gov. related to IRS registered AFFIL, and immagration [sic] computer code name concerning destructive devices that control law."
The director of a hospital may receive and retain therein as a patient any person alleged to be mentally ill and in need of involuntary care and treatment upon the certificates of two examining physicians, accompanied by an application for the admission of such person. The examination may be conducted jointly but each examining physician shall execute a separate certificate.
There is no indication that Waters, at that time, challenged his involuntary hospitalization, although Sec. 9.31(a) of the Mental Hygiene Law provides that anyone involuntarily admitted pursuant to medical certification may request a hearing on the question of the need for involuntary care and treatment "at any time prior to the expiration of sixty days from the date of involuntary admission of [the] patient." He was placed on "Convalescent Care" status on December 5, 1979. On January 7, 1980, sixty days after he had been admitted to the facility, Waters requested that his status be converted to voluntary status, pursuant to Sec. 9.23(a), which provides that the director of a mental facility shall convert a patient from involuntary status to voluntary status as long as she is "suitable and willing to apply therefor." He was released seven months later, on August 27, 1980. Following the ATF investigation, a federal grand jury indicted Waters on November 13, 1991, for violation of the federal Gun Control Act in that he possessed firearms after having been committed to a mental institution, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4), which states that it shall be unlawful for anyone
(4) who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;
....
to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
On January 15, 1992, Waters moved to dismiss his indictment, claiming, inter alia, that his admission to the psychiatric hospital in 1979 did not constitute a "commitment" to a mental institution within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) because there was no judicial order of commitment. The district court denied the motion on March 17, 1992, finding, inter alia, that although Sec. 922(g)(4) does not define the term "committed," Waters' commitment pursuant to New York State law was sufficient under federal policy. United Waters next moved, on June 4, 1992, to dismiss his indictment on the ground that the current version of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) was enacted in 1986, seven years after his "alleged" commitment, and thus the indictment violated the Ex Post Facto clause of the United States Constitution. On July 10, 1992, this argument was rejected by the district court, which stated that the Ex Post Facto clause did not apply because the act for which Waters was indicted--i.e., the possession of the firearms--occurred after Sec. 922(g)(4) became law.
States v. Waters, 786 F.Supp. 1111, 1113, 1116-17 (N.D.N.Y.1992).
Thereafter, on September 25, 1992, Waters signed a conditional plea agreement with the Government, agreeing to plead guilty to the first count of the five-count indictment, which charged as follows:
On or about May 17, 1991, in the Northern District of New York, the defendant, LAURENCE WATERS, knowingly possessed a firearm in or affecting interstate commerce ... having then previously been committed to a mental institution.
As part of the plea agreement, Waters preserved the right to appeal one issue, namely, "whether [his] involuntary hospitalization at the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center from on or about November 7, 1979 constituted a 'commitment' as that term is used in [18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) ]." The district court accepted his guilty plea to Count One of the indictment, following a plea colloquy, on September 25, 1992. On January 8, 1993, Waters was sentenced to serve a two-year term of probation, to pay a fine of $2,500 and a special assessment of $50, and to participate in a mental health treatment program as directed by the Probation Office. Waters filed a timely notice of appeal.
Waters' first argument upon appeal presents a novel issue for the Court: whether an involuntary hospitalization pursuant to New York Mental Hygiene Law constitutes a commitment to a mental institution within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4). Waters argues that his hospitalization pursuant to N.Y.Mental Hyg.Law Sec. 9.27(a) (McKinney 1988) did not constitute a "commitment" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) because there was no formal commitment process or judicial order. The Government counters that New York's certification procedure for admission adequately constitutes a "commitment" to a mental institution for the purposes of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4).
The district court's interpretation of the term "commitment" to a mental institution under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922(g)(4) is reviewed de novo by this Court. See United States v. Liranzo, 944 F.2d 73, 79 (2d Cir.1991). The Gun Control Act does not define the term "commitment." See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922; see also United States v. Giardina, 861 F.2d 1334, 1335 (5th Cir.1988). While determination of the issue of whether the appellant "was committed to a mental institution is a question of federal law," a reviewing court may "seek guidance from state law." Giardina, 861 F.2d at 1335; see also United States v. Hansel, 474 F.2d 1120, 1122-23 (8th Cir.1973) (); 3 cf. Dickerson v. New Banner Inst., Inc., 460 U.S. 103, 111-12, 103 S.Ct. 986, 991, 74 L.Ed.2d 845 (1983) () (citation omitted). Once state law has addressed the general question, the federal court must then consider if the outcome is consistent with federal policy. See Giardina, 861 F.2d at 1335.
The New York Mental Hygiene statute was enacted in 1927, see 1927 N.Y.Laws 981, and amended in 1933 to allow commitment upon the certification of two physicians and a hearing before a judge. 1933 N.Y.Laws 926, 931. The hearing requirement was abolished in 1964 and replaced The New York State Mental Hygiene Law was amended in 1964 in order to recognize "the medical necessity of prompt treatment of psychiatric ills [while preserving] due process safeguards of every person who is admitted to a psychiatric facility for care and treatment." 1964 N.Y.Laws at 1968. Thus, the law was fashioned to allow the speedy and efficient care of mentally ill persons, upon the recommendations of both physicians and psychiatrists. In order to be involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility, one must be "mentally ill and in need of involuntary care and treatment." N.Y.Mental Hyg.Law Sec. 9.27(a). A person is " 'in need of involuntary care and treatment' [if that] person has a mental illness for which care and treatment...
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