Commonwealth Ex Rel. McGurrin v. Shovlin

257 A.2d 902, 435 Pa. 474, 1969 Pa. LEXIS 749

• Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• Decided: October 9, 1969
• Docket: Appeal, 100
• Status: Published

Opinions

Opinion

Per Curiam,

Since 1963, William Joseph McGurrin has been confined in the Farview State Hospital at Waymart, Pennsylvania, under order of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Lackawanna County. The order of commitment was entered by the court following receipt of a report from a Sanity Commission¹ stating that McGurrin was mentally ill and of criminal tendencies. The Commission, consisting of two psychiatrists and one attorney, arrived at its conclusions following a hearing conducted in accordance with Art. III, Section 327 of the Act of 1951, supra, 50 P.S. §1202. At this hearing McGurrin was present but did not have the assistance of legal counsel.

In the present proceedings, McGurrin seeks his release from confinement by way of habeas corpus proceedings instituted in the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County.² He contends that under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the presence of legal counsel on his behalf at the hearing before the Sanity Commission was an absolute requirement and since said hearing was conducted in the absence thereof, the proceedings were constitutionally invalid.

We will not and do not reach the constitutional question. It is the conclusion of the Court that in every case where a person is convicted of or charged with crime, and is thought to be mentally ill; and where a commission is appointed by the appropriate court to examine that person; and where a hearing is conducted before the court-appointed commission; then, in such cases, it is desirable and wise that such person be represented by legal counsel. Under our supervisory powers, we declare this to be the policy of the courts in this Commonwealth and the course to be followed in such cases.

The orders of the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas of Lackawanna County are therefore vacated and the record is remanded to the court of original jurisdiction. If within 45 days proceedings are not instituted and conducted consonant with this opinion, the writ is directed to issue.

Mr. Justice Musmanno did not participate in the decision of this case.

1 McGurrin was arrested in 1963 by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with writing threatening letters to the President of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.O. 871. Pending disposition of this charge and while appellant was confined in the Lackawanna County Prison, the United States Marshal for the Middle District of Pennsylvania petitioned the Court of Quarter Sessions of Lackawanna County for the appointment of a Sanity Commission pursuant to The Mental Health Act of 1951, P. L. 533, §101 et seq., 50 P.S. §1071 et seq. The Act of 1951 has now been supplanted by the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966, Act of October 20, 1966, P. L. 6, 50 P.S. 4101 et seq.

2 The habeas corpus court denied McGurrin relief and on appeal its order was affirmed by the Superior Court. Judge Hoffman filed a dissenting opinion in which Judge Montgomery joined. See 210 Pa. Superior Ct. 295, 231 A. 2d 760 (1967). We granted allocatur.