United States ex rel. Daniels v. Johnston

• Decision Date: 07 June 1971
• Docket Number: No. 70 Civ. 4918.,70 Civ. 4918.
• Citation: 328 F. Supp. 100
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America ex rel. Anthony T. DANIELS, Petitioner, v. Dr. W. C. JOHNSTON, Superintendent of Matteawan State Hospital, Beacon, New York, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

328 F. Supp. 100

UNITED STATES of America ex rel. Anthony T. DANIELS, Petitioner, v. Dr. W. C. JOHNSTON, Superintendent of Matteawan State Hospital, Beacon, New York, Respondent.

No. 70 Civ. 4918.

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

June 7, 1971.

Anthony T. Daniels, pro se.

Louis J. Lefkowitz, Atty. Gen., of New York, for respondent; Louis E. Cooper, Thomas P. Dorsey, Asst. Attys. Gen., of counsel.

WYATT, District Judge.

This is an application for the writ of habeas corpus by Anthony T. Daniels, Jr., acting for himself and without counsel. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241, 2254. Daniels is being held at Matteawan State Hospital in Beacon, Dutchess County, New York, pursuant to an order of commitment of the Supreme Court of New York (Riccobono, J.) made on October 7, 1969 under the New York Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 662-b. As will be seen, the commitment was because the court was of the opinion that Daniels was in a state of "idiocy, imbecility, or insanity" and in accordance with the cited Section 662-b the commitment was "to the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Hygiene to be placed in an appropriate state institution of the Department of Mental Hygiene or of the Department of Correction as may be designated * * * by agreement between the heads of the two departments * * *". While there is no written evidence thereof, presumably "the heads of the two departments Mental Hygiene and Correction" have agreed on the designation of Matteawan as "an appropriate state institution" for Daniels. Daniels was authorized to proceed in this Court in forma pauperis by order of Chief Judge Sugarman filed November 10, 1970, and the petition was filed on that day by the Clerk. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)

Relief must be granted to Daniels on this application. The nature of the relief will be hereafter described.

The petition avers that Daniels was arrested on December 27, 1962, in Manhattan; that he was indicted by a Grand Jury for New York County on January 8, 1963 (indictment No. 43/1963) for murder in the first degree and assault in the second degree; that he was found to be insane and on May 3, 1963 ordered committed to Matteawan State Hospital (N.Y.Code Crim.Proc. § 662-b) by Mr. Justice Schweitzer of the Supreme Court for New York County; that he was transferred to Matteawan State Hospital on May 7, 1963; that he was certified sane on April 10, 1969, and transferred to Bellevue Hospital; that he was there found to be insane on October 7, 1969, and on October 20, 1969 was transferred back to Matteawan State Hospital, where he is presently confined.

Daniels claims that he was "falsely arrested"; that he was not at the scene of either crime charged in the indictment; that he was not allowed to appear before the grand jury which indicted him; that he has never "had a hearing on the original Indictment"; that he "has been denied a speedy trial, Due Process of Law, violations of his Civil and Constitutional Rights" (so in the original); that his confinement in Matteawan State Hospital for the last eight years constitutes cruel and unusual punishment; that he has made numerous applications in the state and federal courts, which courts he names, and that he has exhausted his state remedies.

I. PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

It appeared from the papers submitted on this application that extensive proceedings had occurred in connection with Daniels in the Supreme Court for New York and Dutchess Counties. The files from the Dutchess County Supreme Court (Nos. 1966/771 and 1970/293L) were sent here by the Clerk of that Court at my request. The files from the Appellate Division, First Department, and from the Supreme Court for New York County were obtained from the Clerks of those Courts by Assistant Attorney General Dorsey at my request.

A. New York County Supreme Court

A paper entitled "Prisoner's Criminal Record—Police Department City of New York—Bureau of Criminal Identification" indicates that Daniels was arrested in Manhattan on December 27, 1962 on a charge of homicide.

What transpired between December 27, 1962 and January 8, 1963 does not appear; Daniels indicates in some of his state court applications that he was arraigned on December 28, 1962 in "Felony Court" and transferred to the prison on Rikers Island.

On January 8, 1963, an indictment (No. 43/1963) in two counts was filed in the Supreme Court for New York County, in which Daniels was charged with the first degree murder of Estelle Brooks and with second degree assault on Dorothy Eddings; both crimes are charged to have been committed with a knife on December 27, 1962. A bench warrant was issued for Daniels' arrest on January 8, 1963. Daniels apparently appeared in the Supreme Court on that day because the court records for January 8 show that he was committed from the Supreme Court to City Prison (now called the Manhattan House of Detention for Men).

On January 9, 1963, Daniels swore to an affidavit attesting to his poverty and requesting the assignment of counsel.

On January 10, 1963, an order of Mr. Justice Marks was filed assigning Bennett I. Schlessel and George J. Todaro, Esqs., as counsel for Daniels.

On January 30, 1963, an order of Mr. Justice Marks was filed directing Daniels' commitment to Bellevue Hospital for a period of sixty days for a mental examination to determine his sanity.

An order of Mr. Justice Schweitzer, filed April 25, 1963, appears to have granted an application of Daniels' counsel that he be examined by a psychiatrist, the examination to take place the next day, April 26; the order recites that a report had already been made by the Director of Bellevue Hospital stating that Daniels was "* * * in such a state of idiocy, imbecility or insanity that he is incapable of understanding the charge, indictment or proceedings or of making his defense * * *".

On the same day, April 25, 1963, Mr. Justice Schweitzer filed an order denying a motion made by Daniels himself in writing to dismiss the indictment.

On May 2, 1963, an order was filed by Mr. Justice Schweitzer which confirmed a report of two doctors at Bellevue, not a part of the record, that Daniels was then "* * * in such a state of idiocy, imbecility or insanity so as to be incapable of understanding the proceedings or making his defense * * *" at trial of the indictment. There is also an order of Mr. Justice Schweitzer of the same date which recites:

"On motion of the District Attorney and on consent of counsel, the report of designated psychiatrists finding defendant insane is confirmed and approved.

"ORDERED that the proceedings herein be suspended and defendant committed and forthwith conveyed to the Matteawan State Hospital at Beacon, New York, until no longer insane, and that upon restoration of sanity he be returned to the City Prison, Borough of Manhattan, for resumption of proceedings."

Finally, on May 2, also, Mr. Justice Schweitzer declared "academic" in view of his order of commitment a motion made by Daniels himself for appointment of a "qualified psychiatrist at public expense".

An order of Mr. Justice Schweitzer of May 9, 1963 directed payment of $2,000 to Daniels' two assigned attorneys. An affidavit of counsel annexed to the order states that "the defendant having been committed for psychiatric observation to Bellevue Hospital, thereafter, counsels so in original attended a hearing inquiring as to the sanity of the defendant aforesaid * * *." What this hearing was, or when, or before whom, is not stated; it appears to have taken place at Bellevue Hospital.

In August, 1963, Daniels sent a handwritten paper from Matteawan to the Supreme Court for New York County, styled "Motion for a Show-Cause Order, to require, the Grand Jury, to re-launch a full investigation, or Inquiry, and hearing, on Suppress facts * * *" (so in original), in which he claimed perjurious affidavits had been made in his case and that he was innocent. On September 16, 1963, Mr. Justice Geller, treating the application as a motion for a speedy trial and for a writ of habeas corpus, denied the motion with respect to the speedy trial on the ground that Daniels had not been certified as restored to sanity and denied habeas corpus on the ground that the "proper forum" was in Dutchess County.

In 1964 and 1965, Daniels appears to have submitted no papers to the Supreme Court for New York County.

In January, 1966, Daniels submitted an application for a writ of error coram nobis on the ground that his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights had been violated by police interrogation in the absence of counsel after his arrest; he also asked for a writ of mandamus directing the return of certain personal property allegedly confiscated by personnel at Matteawan. The application was denied by order entered April 15, 1966 on an opinion by Mr. Justice Klein, dated March 4, 1966, which stated that an application for coram nobis was premature; an application for a copy of all records in the case was similarly denied. Daniels then wrote to Mr. Justice Klein stating his desire to appeal, but no appeal was taken.

In April, 1966, Daniels submitted a motion to dismiss the indictment. He claimed that his property had been seized by the police after his arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment and that he had been denied counsel during police interrogation after his arrest. The motion was denied by Mr. Justice Marks on May 6, 1966, "without prejudice to its renewal when defendant has regained mental competency".

Mr. Justice Marks cited as authority for his decision the decision of the New York Court of Appeals in People v. Booth, 17 N.Y.2d 681, 269 N.Y.S.2d 457, 216 N.E.2d 615 (1966). That decision, cited frequently as authority for denying subsequent applications by Daniels, states only:

"Order affirmed. In our opinion the trial court was correct in denying the writ of error coram nobis until petitioner's sanity is restored citation omitted.

"All concur except Fuld, J., who dissents in the following memorandum: I

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