Commonwealth v. Kappler

625 N.E.2d 513, 416 Mass. 574, 1993 Mass. LEXIS 677
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedDecember 15, 1993
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 625 N.E.2d 513 (Commonwealth v. Kappler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Kappler, 625 N.E.2d 513, 416 Mass. 574, 1993 Mass. LEXIS 677 (Mass. 1993).

Opinions

Abrams, J.

Convicted of murder in the second degree, armed assault with intent to murder, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, the defendant, John F. Kappler, Jr., appeals. The trial focused on the issue of criminal responsibility. After the verdicts, the defendant moved to set aside the verdicts and for required findings of not guilty or, in the alternative, for a new trial. The motions were denied. The defendant alleges error in the denial of his motion for required findings of not guilty, in the allowance of the Commonwealth’s rebuttal testimony, in the jury instructions, and in the denial of his motion for a new trial. We transferred this case from the Appeals Court on our own motion. We affirm.

We summarize the facts in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth. Commonwealth v. Rhoades, 379 Mass. 810, 815 (1980). The defendant, a sixty year old retired anesthesiologist from California, and his wife were visiting their daughter in Medford. On the morning of April 14, 1990, the defendant was to leave Boston and drive to New York City to meet his son. The wife was to fly home to California that day. The defendant awoke at 6 a.m. and spent time packing the car, rearranging things. He had a brief conversation about California with an elderly man who happened to walk by the automobile. The defendant’s daughter’s fiancé arrived. A friend of his daughter drew him a map of the route to New York. The defendant then ate breakfast with his wife, his daughter, her fiancé, and her friend. The defendant said that he had to get going because he wanted to be on his way by 10 a.m. No one noticed anything unusual about the defendant.

The defendant drove through a red light on Alewife Brook Parkway. He was staring straight ahead. He then drove his car onto the footpath adjacent to Alewife Brook Parkway and proceeded to strike two individuals, killing one. The defendant followed the contours of the path, did not sound his horn, did not swerve, and did not stop. After striking the sec- [576]*576and victim, as he drove away he accelerated his automobile and returned to the road. The defendant left his automobile behind a house in a driveway. The automobile was not visible from the street.

According to the defendant, he wandered around the vicin- ■ ity. He also said that he returned to the area of the incident. Further, he called his daughter’s home and left a message saying, “Oh, I thought I might catch you there. Maybe you could pick me up.” He then took a bus to New York City and checked into a hotel. The next day he called his wife and told her he thought he had killed someone. She told him to go to the Payne-Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, a part of New York Hospital. The defendant did so. The defendant’s son met him at the emergency room there, where, according to the defendant’s son, the defendant appeared confused. According to the son, the defendant attacked him and attempted to strangle him.

Prior to trial, the defendant notified the Commonwealth that, at trial, he would claim that he lacked criminal responsibility. The judge ordered the defendant to be evaluated for his competency and his criminal responsibility. Dr. Prudence Baxter, who conducted the evaluation, concluded that the defendant was competent to stand trial, but determined that he was suffering the symptoms of mental illness and therefore recommended further evaluation in order to determine whether he was criminally responsible.

The defendant, through his wife and medical history, presented evidence of his long but sporadic history of mental illness and auditory hallucinations.1 One defense expert, Dr. Martin Kelly, testified that the defendant suffered from atyp[577]*577ical psychosis and, although able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct, was unable to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. Another expert, Dr. Ronald Ebert, testified that, in his opinion, the defendant was unable either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the law. He diagnosed the defendant as suffering either from atypical psychosis with paranoid features or schizo-affective disorder.

Two additional experts who testified for the defense did not state opinions as to whether the defendant was criminally responsible. Dr. Robert Aranow testified as an expert in psychiatry. He stated that, in his opinion, the defendant suffered from a mental disease he called atypical psychosis on the date of the incident. Dr. Aranow characterized the defendant’s psychosis as “extremely” unusual. He also acknowledged that the defendant made a number of inconsistent and contradictory statements about the events occurring on the date of the incident. Then Dr. Lloyd Price testified that on the date of the incident, the defendant was suffering from psychosis. He categorized the defendant’s mental disease as atypical psychosis with affective features. Neither Dr. Ara-now nor Dr. Price expressed an opinion whether the defendant was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. See Commonwealth v. McHoul, 352 Mass. 544, 546-547 (1967).

The Commonwealth called three witnesses in rebuttal. None of these witnesses stated a conclusion as to whether the defendant was able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law, although each offered testimony that supported the Commonwealth’s position that the defendant was sane as part of the testimony.

1. The motion for required findings of not guilty. The defendant moved for required findings of not guilty, both at the close of the Commonwealth’s case2 and at the close of all the [578]*578evidence. The motions were denied. The defendant appeals, claiming that there was insufficient evidence to support jury verdicts finding him sane beyond a reasonable doubt.

In reviewing the denial of a motion for a required finding, we “must determine whether the Commonwealth’s evidence, ‘considered in its light most favorable to the Commonwealth, was sufficient to permit the jury to infer the existence of [criminal responsibility].’ ” Commonwealth v. Shelley, 381 Mass. 340, 346 (1980). In addition, “the evidence and the inferences permitted to be drawn therefrom must be ‘of sufficient force to bring minds of ordinary intelligence and sagacity to the persuasion of [sanity] beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 677 (1979), quoting Commonwealth v. Cooper, 264 Mass. 368, 373 (1928).

The defendant stipulated to the fact that he drove the car that struck two victims, killing one of them. In its case in chief, the Commonwealth presented evidence linking the defendant’s car to the injuries and showing that one victim died as a result of injuries received when he was struck by the car. There was no error in denying the motion for a required finding of not guilty at the close of the Commonwealth’s case.

“A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality [wrongfulness] of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law.” Commonwealth v. McHoul, supra at 546-547. When a defendant claims that he is not criminally responsible for his acts, the Commonwealth bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is sane.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Commonwealth v. Horwitz
113 N.E.3d 935 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2018)
Commonwealth v. Jones
90 N.E.3d 1238 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2018)
Commonwealth v. Lawson
62 N.E.3d 22 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2016)
Commonwealth v. Johnston
7 N.E.3d 424 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2014)
Commonwealth v. Fortuna
951 N.E.2d 687 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2011)
Commonwealth v. Chiero
24 Mass. L. Rptr. 376 (Massachusetts Superior Court, 2008)
Commonwealth v. Rasmusen
830 N.E.2d 1040 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2005)
Commonwealth v. Contos
754 N.E.2d 647 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2001)
Commonwealth v. Colon
729 N.E.2d 315 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 2000)
Commonwealth v. McLaughlin
729 N.E.2d 252 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2000)
Commonwealth v. Donahue
723 N.E.2d 25 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2000)
Commonwealth v. Keita
712 N.E.2d 65 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1999)
Commonwealth v. Richardson
706 N.E.2d 664 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1999)
Commonwealth v. Casey
705 N.E.2d 1108 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1999)
Commonwealth v. Keita
699 N.E.2d 1243 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1998)
Commonwealth v. Lyons
688 N.E.2d 1350 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1998)
Commonwealth v. Stockwell
686 N.E.2d 426 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1997)
Commonwealth v. Prater
651 N.E.2d 833 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1995)
Commonwealth v. Krohn
627 N.E.2d 946 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1994)
Commonwealth v. Lapointe
627 N.E.2d 495 (Massachusetts Appeals Court, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
625 N.E.2d 513, 416 Mass. 574, 1993 Mass. LEXIS 677, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-kappler-mass-1993.