U.S. v. White, 89-1143

• Decision Date: 12 October 1989
• Docket Number: No. 89-1143,89-1143
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Shelton E. WHITE, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 705

887 F.2d 705

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Shelton E. WHITE, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 89-1143.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued June 13, 1989.

Decided Oct. 12, 1989.

Juanita Temple (argued), Office of the U.S. Atty., Detroit, Mich., for U.S.

Thomas V. Wilhelm (argued), Birmingham, Mich., for Shelton Eli White.

Before KENNEDY, GUY and NORRIS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Shelton Eli White was arrested on May 26, 1988, on charges of making threats to assassinate the President of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 871. The following day he appeared before Magistrate Lynn Hooe, who ordered him detained at the Wayne County, Michigan jail pending trial. On May 31, the government made an oral motion to determine White's competency to stand trial. Finding that there existed reasonable cause to believe that White was incompetent to stand trial, Magistrate Hooe granted the motion, and ordered that White be examined by Newton Jackson, a psychologist, at the Federal Correctional Institution at Milan, Michigan, and that Dr. Jackson submit a report of his findings to the court.

Dr. Jackson's report, filed on or about June 22, 1988, stated that White was clearly aware of the nature and object of the proceedings against him, but that he lacked the ability to cooperate in his own defense. The report included a recommendation that White be found incompetent to stand trial. A hearing was subsequently held, at which Dr. Jackson testified as to his findings. On June 30, Magistrate Hooe found White incompetent to stand trial and ordered him taken to the Federal Medical Center at Rochester, Minnesota, for psychotherapy and evaluation. The magistrate also ordered that a report be submitted to the court within sixty days "stating the present psychological status of the defendant."

White arrived at the Medical Center on July 21. While in residence at the Center, White was examined by Dr. James Janecek. In a report dated September 14, 1988, Janecek indicated that White was incompetent to stand trial and that, even if he received the proper treatment, it was unlikely that White would be competent for two or three years. On November 4, White was returned to the Wayne County jail and placed in the custody of the United States Marshal.

During his commitment at Rochester, White filed suit against Magistrate Hooe, the prosecutor, and others. Magistrate Hooe therefore recused himself, and the matter was reassigned to Magistrate Virginia Morgan. On December 22, Magistrate Morgan held a hearing, at which Dr. Janecek testified that with proper treatment White could become competent to stand trial within a reasonable period of time. White also testified, indicating that he understood the nature of the proceedings against him and was able to assist in the preparation of his defense. Magistrate Morgan ordered White examined by an outside psychiatrist and set another hearing for December 29.

A hearing was held on December 29, although White failed to provide testimony from an outside psychiatrist. In response to an inquiry of the magistrate, White's attorney represented that White was able to assist in his own defense. At the conclusion of the hearing, Magistrate Morgan found White competent. However, she reserved the right to redetermine the issue of competency upon review of an independent psychiatrist's report, which White was ordered to provide the court within thirty days. The magistrate ordered White held until February 6, 1989, by which time the government was to indict White or dismiss the complaint, stating: "If I were to find White competent, that would force the government into the position of either dismissing the complaint or proceeding to indictment and giving Mr. White the process that he is due on these charges."

On January 17, 1989, an indictment was returned charging White with making threats to assassinate the President in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 871. White filed a motion for bond, and on January 23 a hearing was held on the motion before Judge Paul Gadola. At the hearing, the government moved for another competency evaluation. In an order dated January 27, the district court found that there was reasonable cause to believe that White was suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him incompetent to stand trial. Accordingly, the court ordered that White be taken into the custody of the Attorney General for a period not to exceed four months for a determination of whether, in the foreseeable future, White would gain the capacity to permit trial to proceed. The district court, however, issued an order preventing transfer of White to a medical facility pending the outcome of an appeal. White now appeals the district court's order.

The question presented in this appeal is whether the district court properly considered the issue of competency at the hearing on bond, when a determination that White was competent to stand trial had been reached by the magistrate and had not been appealed by the government. A subsidiary question concerns whether the district court correctly applied the federal statute governing the competency proceedings.

Congress completed an overhaul of the process for determining the competency of a defendant to stand trial as a part of the modernization of federal criminal law which culminated in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The key provision on mental competency is now 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4241, which has replaced the former Sec. 4244. The enactment of Sec. 4241, a comprehensive provision detailing the standards and procedures for finding an individual mentally incompetent, provides a committing court with a strict process to which it must adhere for a competency determination to be valid.

In structuring the process for this determination, Congress recognized that it was bound by the parameters of the Due Process Clause. On the one hand, the conviction of a legally incompetent defendant violates due process. Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378, 86 S.Ct. 836, 838, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966). On the other, commitment based on incompetency requires not only a finding that the individual does not have the capacity to stand trial, but also a determination that there is a substantial probability that the individual will attain the capacity in the foreseeable future. Jackson v. Indiana, 406 U.S. 715, 738, 92 S.Ct. 1845, 1858, 32 L.Ed.2d 435 (1972). Thus, Congress achieved a careful balance in enacting Sec. 4241. This section reads:

(a) Motion to determine competency of defendant.--At any time after the commencement of a prosecution for an offense and prior to the sentencing of the defendant, the defendant or the attorney for the Government may file a motion for a hearing to determine the mental competency of the defendant. The court shall grant the motion, or shall order such a hearing on its own motion, if there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense.

(b) Psychiatric or psychological examination and report.--Prior to the date of the hearing, the court may order that a psychiatric or psychological examination of the defendant be conducted, and that a psychiatric or psychological report be filed with the court, pursuant to the provisions of section 4247(b) and (c).

(c) Hearing.--The hearing shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of section 4247(d).

(d) Determination and disposition.--If, after the hearing, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense, the court shall commit the defendant to the custody of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall hospitalize the defendant for treatment in a suitable facility--

(1) for such a reasonable period of time, not to exceed four months, as is necessary to determine whether there is a substantial probability that in the foreseeable future he will attain the capacity to permit the trial to proceed; and

(2) for an additional reasonable period of time until--

(A) his mental condition is so improved that trial may proceed, if the court finds that there is a substantial probability that within such additional period of time he will attain the capacity to permit the trial to proceed; or

(B) the pending charges against him are disposed of according to law;

whichever is earlier.

If, at the end of the time period specified, it is determined that the defendant's mental condition has not so improved as to permit the trial to proceed, the defendant is subject to the provisions of section...