US v. Kosma

• Decision Date: 06 November 1990
• Docket Number: Crim. No. 89-00474.
• Citation: 749 F. Supp. 1392
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Louis KOSMA.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

749 F. Supp. 1392

UNITED STATES of America v. Louis KOSMA.

Crim. No. 89-00474.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

November 6, 1990.

Joan L. Markman, Asst. U.S. Atty., Philadelphia, Pa., for plaintiff.

Michael Kelly, Philadelphia, Pa., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM

O'NEILL, District Judge.

I. Introduction.

This is a non-jury criminal matter. Defendant Louis Kosma is charged in counts one and two of the superseding indictment with making threats on the life of the President of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 871 and in count three with making threats on the life of a former President of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 879. The offenses charged in counts one and two are alleged to have occurred, respectively, on March 2, 1988 and April 20, 1988. The offense charged in count three is alleged to have occurred on May 10, 1990 while Kosma was incarcerated and awaiting trial on the original indictment.

Prior to trial Kosma requested and was granted a competency examination which was performed by Dr. Michael Natale and Dr. Ira Herman, M.D. Their report stated that Kosma was competent to stand trial. Dr. Natale confirmed this finding immediately prior to trial. Dr. Natale and Dr. Herman were also appointed prior to trial upon Kosma's unopposed motion as experts under F.R.E. Rule 706(b) for the purpose of evaluating Kosma's mental state and condition at the time of the commission of the offenses charged in the superseding indictment.

Prior to trial Kosma filed notice pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 12.2(b) of his intention to introduce expert testimony regarding his mental condition. The government filed a motion in limine seeking to limit the scope of the expert testimony to count three. I deferred ruling on the government's motion in limine and heard all the expert testimony proffered by Kosma. The government and Kosma have now briefed the issues involved in this action. For the following reasons, I find Mr. Kosma guilty on counts one and two of the superseding indictment and not guilty on count three.

II. Summary of Evidence.

A. Government's Evidence.

The government's evidence consisted of eight written communications which Kosma made concerning President Reagan. Kosma sent these communications to President Reagan or to other persons in positions of authority within the Reagan administration. Government exhibits 1 through 3 were the communications which the government alleged constituted the offenses charged in counts one through three. Government exhibits 4 through 8 were communications sent to a presidential assistant, Marlin Fitzwater, in July, 1988. Government exhibits 4 through 8 were admitted into evidence under F.R.E. Rule 404(b) without objection.

The contents of government exhibits 1 through 3 are as follows:

1. (a) A postcard¹ postmarked March 2, 1988² addressed to President Reagan, "C/O Ye Ol Whitehouse" with the return address of "Louis A. Kosma (acting Director. FBI) ..."

(b) The text of the postcard states in full:

Mr. Reagan: You are hereby invited to PHILADELPHIA. We are going to give you a 21 Gun-Salute.

21 guns are going to put bullets thru your heart and brains. You are a Disgrace to the Air-Force. You are a Disgrace to Teddy Roosevelt. You are a Disgrace to John F. Kennedy. You are a Disgrace to Nancy Reagan. You have insulted her intelligence,and dignity,and honor,and integrity,and I resent this very much.!! You are in contempt of EVERYTHING that I represent,and standby,and believe. Officially, an Act of Contempt of Court. Your name is going to be removed from ALL documents,and books.OFFICIALLY: you were NEVER the "president" of anything.!!

2. (a) A document variously entitled "Official Court Order", "Official Proclamation" and "Motion to Proceed In Forma", dedicated to the "memory of" eleven persons, including four past presidents. The text of the document states:

To: Wilson Goode Ronald Reagan

WHEREBY: You criminals have caused many Crimes against Humanity, and it would be Futile for you to seek Justice. YOU CAN ONLY SEEK MERCY.!! "Give me Liberty or give me Death." WE can NOT give you Liberty, but we can give you Death, to end your Mental Anguish.!!

You should choose an Honorable Death. You are hereby ORDERED to Philadelphia,Penna. We are going to give you a 21 Gun-Salute. Twenty-one guns are going to put bullets thru your heart & brains. Place: FEDERAL COURT-HOUSE. 601 Market street. Time: 6:o'clock am. Date: June 14th.1988.Flag Day.

The document is signed by the defendant but purports to be from a "Senior Commander.REGIONAL TASK FORCE" and the "U.S.MARINES".

3. (a) An envelope post-marked May 10, 1990 and addressed to "RONALD REAGAN.EX-PRES."

(b) A letter which states:

Dear Mr. Reagan,

You are invited to Phila, Penna. You are invited to an act of EUTHANASIA. You are invited to a 21 gun salute. 21 guns are going to blow holes in your heart and brains. You should pick an honorable way to die. You are a disgrace to your wife Nancy. You are a disgrace to the U. S. of A. You are all mouth except your ass, and that sucks canal water. If brains were dynamite, you couldn't blow your nose. You are an incorrigable, incurable, loathsome scum of the earth. How the fuck did you get to be president anyway? What are you going to do with $7,000,000 from that publisher ? Why did you take an il-legal tax rebate of $23,600 1985 1986 ?

I'm signing off.

10-04

Aufwiedersein Louis A. Kosma

Government exhibits 4 through 7 are envelopes postmarked July 4, 1988 and written material contained in the envelopes. Exhibit 8 is a similar envelope and letter postmarked July 5, 1988 and written material. All of the envelopes were addressed to a presidential assistant, Marlin Fitzwater, and all of the written material is similar in appearance and content. The written material purports to be arrest warrants and/or death sentences for various crimes. All are purported to be signed with the names of several judges.³

B. Defense Evidence.

The sole evidence which the defense presented was the testimony of Dr. Natale regarding his and Dr. Herman's diagnosis of Kosma's medical condition. According to Dr. Natale, the evaluation of Kosma "consisted primarily of three different features." Transcript of August 23, 1990, at 11.

First, Dr. Natale conducted an interview with Kosma in which Dr. Natale received information which permitted him to "draw conclusions as to diagnosis and to write a clinical summary." Id. Second, Dr. Natale administered to Kosma two psychological tests, an "objective" test called the MMPI which, according to Dr. Natale, Kosma was unable to complete because of "concentration difficulties" which Dr. Natale considered "genuine", id., and a Rorschach evaluation. Dr. Natale testified that the Rorshasch evaluation is a "projective psychological test" which one of Dr. Natale's assistants performed under Dr. Natale's direction. Id., at 11-12. Third, Dr. Herman conducted a twenty-five minute interview with Kosma for the purpose of determining whether Dr. Herman had "any perception or observations that would contradict Dr. Natale's basic findings". Id., at 12.

Dr. Natale testified that he was "quite sure that Kosma suffers from schizophrenia, paranoid type." Id. However, Dr. Natale also "offered a differential of schizophrenia, paranoid type or schizophrenia, residual." Id. According to Dr. Natale, the difference between the two disorders is that in the case of the former (paranoid) type, a person's schizophrenia "is predominated by a paranoid thought style", while in the case of the latter (residual) type a person's schizophrenia "is predominated by a general pattern of emotional and social deficits associated with schizophrenia." Id.

Dr. Natale testified further concerning Kosma's mental health. According to Dr. Natale, during the interview Kosma made certain remarks about President Bush. In response to a question concerning whether Kosma's words had meaning and his sentences structure, Dr. Natale stated that Kosma "was able to communicate with no clear disturbances of speech and language." Kosma's sentences were "coherent", and "responsive to questions that were relevant." Id., at 15.

At the conclusion of the direct examination of Dr. Natale the following colloquy occurred:

Q: So far as you're able to tell, sir, with regard to his particular fixation and compulsion, ... to the extent he gives into sic it, would it appear to be satisfied by actually making a written communication ... or would it possibly lead to additional activities on his part?

A: It is my perception that most of his emotional investment is in the act of communication, okay, that he has in all likelihood not organized a plan or a series of ideas on the carrying out of his specific threat. It seems as if the actual letter and the content of the letter would be read and the thought that the letter would be read and understood, that that constitutes the threat in his mind.

Q: Sir, with regard to your statement just now that he would be in effect satisfied with the feeling that the letters were understood, are you able to say whether or not that compulsion and that fixation ... requires statements by him however convoluted stating his opposition to public officials or is that not necessarily part of his compulsion?

A: I don't believe that his fixation ... takes the form of him stating opposition. A sublimated aggressive stance is what's probably going to come out in the letters, and it seems to reflect the pattern of previous communication on his part. So it would not be just an abstract communication of his objections. It would probably contain the same elements of imagery and suggestion. He was very careful in his statements with me — not careful, consistent I should say — that he did not intend to threaten the President. Nonetheless, he was obviously very fixated on using a particular set of words and phraseology and imagery that would constitute a threat by most people's perceptions. So

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