United States v. White, 16-1075
| Decision Date | 10 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 16-1075,16-1075 |
| Parties | United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Donald White Defendant - Appellant |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield
[Unpublished]
Before WOLLMAN and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and WRIGHT,1 District Judge.
In 1987, Donald White was charged in the Southern District of Florida with threatening President Ronald Reagan, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871(a). The districtcourt2 found White to be mentally incompetent to stand trial and committed him to the custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4241. White's civil commitment has continued at various treatment facilities since then. In August 2015, White filed his most recent pro se motion for a discharge hearing, which the district court3 denied. White, now represented by counsel, appeals, arguing not that the district court improperly denied his motion for a hearing, but that he should be immediately released because the court no longer has jurisdiction over him. We deny White's requested relief.
After White's civil commitment by the district court in Florida, he was placed at the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri (FMC-Springfield), and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. FMC-Springfield recommended continued inpatient treatment because of the substantial risk of injury to persons and damage to property should White be released.4 In May 1990, the district court5 in the Western District of Missouri reviewed the psychiatric assessment and agreed that White was mentally ill and dangerous. Because the State of Florida refused to accept White for treatment, the court entered an order committing White to the continued custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4246. White was transferred to the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota (FMC-Rochester), in July 1990.
In October 1992, a risk assessment panel at FMC-Rochester recommended that White be conditionally discharged under a prescribed regimen of inpatient care to a treatment facility in Florida. The district court6 ordered that White be conditionally discharged "under the provisions of § 4246," that he "comply with [the recommended] treatment regimen," and that he remain under the supervision of "the U.S. Probation Office until he is finally discharged from treatment." The court also ordered that it was to be notified "[p]rior to any final discharge from treatment . . . so that [White's] conditions of release may be reviewed." White was then transferred from FMC-Rochester to the Florida treatment facility, where he remained for roughly six years under the terms of the court's April 1993 conditional discharge order.
Several years later, White began having difficulty controlling his behavior and was repeatedly abusive to staff members and other patients at the Florida treatment facility. In a January 2001 letter, staff members reported that White was no longer suitable for placement because of his noncompliance, was not benefitting from the treatment program, and was a danger to others. The district court issued an arrest warrant based on White's violations of the conditions of his release, and White was arrested and readmitted to FMC-Springfield. A risk assessment panel determined months later that White had stabilized to the point that he could be returned to an inpatient treatment facility in Florida. Following a hearing, the magistrate judge found that White's unconditional release "pose[d] a substantial risk of danger to other persons and the community." Because "[s]tate placement [was] not presently available," the magistrate judge recommended that White "be recommitted under the provisions of § 4246." The district court adopted the recommendation and committed White to the custody of the Attorney General under § 4246 based on the "unanimous expert opinion" that White's mental illness created a substantial risk of bodily injuryor serious property damage. The court also ordered the Attorney General to "attempt to secure appropriate state placement."
In November 2002, the government filed another motion for White's conditional discharge under § 4246(e), attaching a risk assessment report and a related certification from the director of FMC-Springfield. The government noted that White's condition had improved such that his conditional discharge under a prescribed regimen of care would no longer create a substantial risk, and it recommended that White be conditionally released under § 4246(e) to the same Florida treatment facility. The district court granted White's conditional discharge, subject to twenty-seven conditions of release recommended by the director of FMC-Springfield. Although the Florida treatment facility would make decisions regarding White's medical and psychiatric care, White was to be supervised throughout his term of release "by the U.S. probation office, Southern District of Florida," and any change in his treatment program or placement had to "be approved, in advance, by his supervising U.S. probation officer." Any failure by White to comply with the stated conditions would result in his arrest and appearance before the court for a hearing under § 4246. The treatment facility was instructed to prepare and file with the district court annual risk assessment reports as required under § 4247(e). The court ordered White's unspecified term of conditional release to continue "until further order of this court."
In 2007, White's U.S. probation officer in Southern Florida received separate reports from the treatment facility that White had attempted to strangle one patient and had sexually assaulted another. White's placement at the facility was terminated, and he was transferred to a different treatment facility in Florida, where his abusive behavior continued. White's probation officer was notified of three separate incidents in May 2008 when White assaulted staff members or other patients. In a May 2008 letter to the district court, White's probation officer reported these incidents, advised the court that White had "been terminated from each residentialliving program" in which he had been placed, and stated that there were "no other residential programs available" in Florida. The district court granted the probation officer's request for a warrant, and White was arrested and returned to FMC-Springfield in August 2008.
The government moved for revocation of White's conditional release in September 2008 and requested a hearing under § 4246(f) "to determine whether he should be confined in a suitable facility on the ground that his continued release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury" or serious property damage. A risk assessment report by staff at FMC-Springfield concluded that White posed a substantial risk to others and that conditional release was not appropriate. FMC-Springfield staff had inquired into whether the state of Florida "would be willing to assume responsibility for [White's] care, custody, and treatment" and learned that such placement was not possible. After a hearing, the magistrate judge recommended that White's conditional release be revoked. The district court adopted that recommendation, and in March 2009, White was committed to the custody of the Attorney General under § 4246 and was later transferred to FMC-Rochester.
In August 2015, White filed a pro se motion for a discharge hearing and unconditional release. The government opposed the motion and submitted FMC-Rochester's most recent risk assessment report, which concluded that White's "unconditional release would create a substantial risk of danger due to mental illness" and that he "continue[d] to meet the criteria for commitment" under § 4246. The report also discussed whether White could be conditionally released to a treatment facility in Florida, but declined to recommend such a course given White's insistence that he would not abide by the facility's rules. The district court denied White's motion for a discharge hearing. As set forth above, White appeals, arguing that the district court lost jurisdiction over him in 1993 when the State of Florida assumed responsibility for his custody, care, and treatment under § 4246(d)(1). He seeks immediate and unconditional release from FMC-Rochester.
A district court's jurisdiction is a question of law that we review de novo, and a challenge to the district court's jurisdiction may be raised at any time, even for the first time on appeal. United States v. Afremov, 611 F.3d 970, 975 (8th Cir. 2010); see also United States v. Hacker, 450 F.3d 808, 814, 814 n.4 (8th Cir. 2006).
White was initially committed to the custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4241 after being found to suffer from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to stand trial on federal criminal charges. Because his condition did not improve during a "reasonable period of time" such that he was competent to stand trial, White became subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 4246. See 18 U.S.C. § 4241(d). "Section 4246 provides for the indefinite hospitalization of a person who . . . , as the result of a mental illness, poses a significant danger to the general public." United States v. S.A., 129 F.3d 995, 998 (8th Cir. 1997). Under § 4246(a), if a person is hospitalized after being committed to the custody of the Attorney General under § 4241 and is found to be "presently suffering from a mental disease or defect as a result of which his release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of another, and . . . suitable arrangements for State custody and care of the person are not available," the director of the facility at which the person is hospitalized must file a certification to that effect with the district court. If, after a hearing, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the...
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