United States v. Maret

• Decision Date: 12 December 1970
• Docket Number: No. 19925.,19925.
• Citation: 433 F.2d 1064
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Burl Gene MARET, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

433 F.2d 1064 (1970)

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Burl Gene MARET, Appellant.

No. 19925.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

October 26, 1970.

Rehearing Denied and Rehearing Denied December 12, 1970.

Thomas W. Flynn, Jr., Clayton, Mo., for appellant.

James M. Gordon, Asst. U. S. Atty., St. Louis, Mo., for appellee; Daniel Bartlett, Jr., U. S. Atty., on the brief.

Before MEHAFFY and LAY, Circuit Judges, and HARPER, Chief District Judge.

Rehearing Denied and Rehearing En Banc Denied December 12, 1970.

MEHAFFY, Circuit Judge.

Burl Gene Maret was convicted by trial to a jury of assaulting Robert J. Caton, a superintendent of mails, in the St. Louis Post Office on July 20, 1966 with intent to rob, steal or purloin mail matter, money and other property in the custody and control of Caton, and in attempting to effect such robbery by putting the life of Caton in jeopardy with the use of a loaded gun in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2114. Maret was sentenced to the mandatory term of twenty-five years' imprisonment. We affirm the judgment of conviction.

Maret had originally pleaded guilty to the offense, but was allowed to withdraw his former plea and stand trial after it was determined in a post-conviction proceeding that his plea was not voluntary by reason of a misunderstanding with his then attorney as to the mandatory nature of the penalty.

Defendant bases this appeal on three assignments of error. He asserts:

(1) That the court erred in denial of his motion for an independent psychiatric examination to determine his mental competency at the time of the alleged commission of the offense and his competency to stand trial;

(2) The insufficiency of the evidence as to his intent to rob and the denial of a motion for verdict at the conclusion of the evidence; and

(3) The admission of testimony of defendant's statements without having advised him of his legal rights.

About 1:30 a. m. on July 20, 1966, defendant went to the second floor of the main St. Louis Post Office. When the elevator door opened a custodial post office employee who was waiting for the elevator was confronted by defendant armed with a small automatic pistol. Defendant first demanded to see the provost marshal, and then upon the employee's suggestion was led to Room 278 where the employee's supervisor was located. As they proceeded to the supervisor's office, defendant fired one shot from his pistol down one of the corridors.

Caton, who was working as foreman of mails in Room 278, had supervision of all persons, equipment and property in this outgoing mail room including some fourteen revolvers to be issued to postal clerks assigned to convoy registered mail. While defendant was walking towards Caton's mail room, Caton was in the process of issuing a Colt .38 caliber revolver to substitute clerk Clyde Cassaday. When defendant and the custodial employee walked into Caton's office, defendant had his gun pressed to the employee's neck and told Caton to call the FBI. At this time defendant said in effect that the FBI wanted him and he was there to rob the place. Defendant then turned to Cassaday, who had received the revolver and completed the loading of it, took the revolver out of Cassaday's holster and ordered the other employees in the room to lay down on the floor. Defendant fired five bullets from the government revolver across the room.

Two postal investigative aids, who heard the shots, armed themselves and proceeded down the corridor to Room 278. When defendant came in their view they ordered him to drop his gun, whereupon defendant surrendered. After searching defendant for weapons and removing a small pocket knife, the investigative officers took defendant to their office. One of them immediately attempted to advise defendant of his constitutional rights, but defendant constantly interrupted him with profanity and statements that "I know my rights." In spite of this, one of the investigative aids read to defendant his rights from a form of warning then employed by postal inspectors. This warning advised defendant of his right to remain silent, that anything he might say could be used against him in court, that he had a right to talk to a lawyer for advice before any questions were asked and to have him present during questioning, and if he could not afford a lawyer one would be appointed for him. Some five minutes after this, the St. Louis police arrived, the group being in the charge of Lieutenant Harper. Harper asked defendant his name, but defendant declined to answer, whereupon he was placed under arrest. Then Harper began to recite to defendant his constitutional rights and defendant again interrupted with profanity and said, "I just came here to rob the post office." When the St. Louis police took defendant into custody he claimed that he was suffering from narcotics withdrawal. He was sent to a hospital where an examination proved negative.

The Psychiatric Examination.

A few days after commission of the offense, defendant was, upon motion of the United States Attorney, ordered to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri to be examined to determine his competency to stand trial. Defendant was admitted to the Medical Center on August 3, 1966, and on October 11, 1966 the report of the three doctors who examined defendant was issued, stating that it was the consensus of the staff that defendant was ready for a competency hearing and that their findings supported an adjudication of competency.

After defendant had been allowed to withdraw his plea of guilty, his counsel filed a motion for another psychiatric examination. In response to this motion, Judge Meredith ordered an examination at the Medical Center to include determination of his competency at the time of the criminal offense alleged in the indictment. On May 28, 1969 the Neuropsychiatric Staff reaffirmed the diagnosis made in 1966 that defendant was a "sociopathic personality" and their findings supported an adjudication of competency. Thereafter on September 2, 1969, defendant renewed his motion for appointment of a psychiatrist other than a government employee, which was denied by Judge Meredith. On neither of defendant's motions was the trial court presented with any statement of facts to justify a third psychiatric examination by an independent source and at government expense. Nor was there any suggestion that defendant intended to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Judge Meredith, of course, knew that defendant had been examined twice before at the Medical Center, one examination being conducted a few days after the offense was committed and the other shortly before the trial, but in both cases the defendant was pronounced a "sociopathic personality" with no signs of psychosis or thought disorder.

Some degree of mental illness does not equate with legal incompetence. Butler v. United States, 384 F.2d 522, 523 (8th Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 391 U.S. 952, 88 S.Ct. 1854, 20 L.Ed.2d 865 (1968). When the report does not indicate a state of present insanity or mental incompetence, the trial court is not required to take any other action prior to trial.

The purpose of an 18 U.S.C. § 4244 psychiatric examination is only to establish defendant's competency to stand trial. Shale v. United States, 388 F.2d 616, 618 (5th Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 984, 89 S.Ct. 456, 21 L.Ed. 2d 445 (1968). The question of mental competency at the time of trial is for the trial judge and not for the jury. United States v. Huff, 409 F.2d 1225, 1228 (5th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 857, 90 S.Ct. 123, 24 L.Ed.2d 108 (1969). But once the defendant offers evidence of his insanity, the burden of proving legal sanity is on the government. United States v. Albright, 388 F. 2d 719, 724 (4th Cir. 1968); Beltran v. United States, 302 F.2d 48, 52 (1st Cir. 1962), citing Davis v. United States, 160 U.S. 469, 16 S.Ct. 353, 40 L.Ed. 499 (1895). Repeated mental examinations are not required under the statute and the trial court's determination is not to be set aside unless "clearly arbitrary and unwarranted." Hall v. United States, 410 F.2d 653, 658 (4th Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 970, 90 S.Ct. 455, 24 L.Ed.2d 436 (1969). Unless the circumstances are such from the medical reports received or other facts presented, it would seem premature for the trial court at a pretrial date before it has actual knowledge that the defense of insanity will be interposed to order any mental examination dealing with defendant's insanity as of the date of the commission of the crime. The statute does not authorize such procedure and we are convinced that it would have done so if Congress had deemed it advisable.

Whether an additional psychiatrist should be appointed in a particular case is within the sole discretion of the trial court. Ruud v. United States, 347 F.2d 321 (9th Cir. 1965), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 1014, 86 S.Ct. 624, 15 L.Ed.2d 528 (1966). The trial court here had nothing before it but the evidence of defendant's competency, and did not abuse its discretion in denying a third examination by an independent psychiatrist of defendant's choice at government expense. To permit such a practice would enable a defendant to sit by and condone an order for examination at the government hospital and then if the report did not suit him to demand another examination at government expense. The law does not require this, and for us to so hold would be an invitation for every defendant to demand such a procedure without furnishing the trial court with any compelling reason therefor. Defendant here made no objection to the qualifications of the psychiatrists at the Medical Center. He did not suggest or offer insanity as a defense and at trial offered no testimony whatsoever in defense of the charge. Under the existing circumstances, it cannot be said that the trial court abused its discretion.

It was not intended originally to discuss our...