Dickenson v. United States

313 F. Supp. 928, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11846
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedMay 4, 1970
DocketCiv. A. No. 70-C-27-A
StatusPublished

This text of 313 F. Supp. 928 (Dickenson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dickenson v. United States, 313 F. Supp. 928, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11846 (W.D. Va. 1970).

Opinion

OPINION AND JUDGMENT

DALTON, Chief Judge.

This proceeding comes before the court on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Motion to Vacate Sentence and Judgment), filed in forma pauperis by Ronnie Dean Dickenson, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Said petition was filed in this court on the 23rd of March, 1970, and respondent filed an answer thereto, moving said court to dismiss the petition. In moving for dismissal, respondent likewise, moves that the petitioner be denied his request for an evidentiary hearing on the merits of the petition.

Dickenson contends that he was under a narcotic drug influence when he was undergoing psychiatric observations at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D. C. Also, the petitioner alleges [929]*929that said narcotic drugs rendered him “mentally incapacitated” during his subsequent arraignment, as well as, during the period when he entered his guilty plea and was sentenced on the 15th of June, 1964. For this reason, Dickenson concludes that his sentence should be vacated.

Examination of the record before this court reveals the following data. The petitioner is currently serving two concurrent, thirty-five (35) year sentences imposed upon him by the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon, on the 15th of June, 1964. Dickenson plead guilty to two indictments, each of which charged him with violation of the federal kidnapping statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1201 (1964), and the Dyer Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2312 (1964). In October, 1965, the petitioner sought relief by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, as provided for by 28 U.S.C. § 2255. In said petition, the petitioner maintained the following allegations:

1. ineffective assistance of counsel;
2. that he pleaded guilty out of fear;
3. that he should have had an examination of an “independent psychiatrist” ; and
4. coercion on the part of his court-appointed counsel and the United States Attorney.

This court, after presiding over an evidentiary hearing that had been afforded Dickenson, denied and dismissed the petition on the 22nd of November, 1965. An appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit was perfected, the result being an affirmation of the District Court’s opinion and judgment. The Fourth Circuit, in a per curiam decision, said that the district court judge found:

* * * either specifically or implicitly, that the guilty pleas had been entered voluntarily, that they were not induced by the presence of an involuntary confession, and that Dickenson’s counsel afforded him effective representation. Our study convinces us that these findings and conclusions are substantially supported by the record. (Emphasis added.) September 12, 1966 — No. 10,490)

Petitioner Dickenson now seeks habeas corpus relief by contending that throughout his arraignment proceeding, his subsequent plea of guilty, and then his ultimate sentencing, he was under the influence of narcotic drugs which rendered him “mentally incapacitated” to stand trial and enter pleas of guilty. In support of such contentions, Dickenson maintains that he can prove, via witnesses, that he bought, used and was under the influence of said narcotic drugs.

With respect to petitioner’s main allegation of “mental incompetency” this court is of the following view.

As stated in Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375, 378, 86 S.Ct. 836, 838, 15 L.Ed.2d 815 (1966), “the conviction of an accused person while he is legally incompetent violates due process. Bishop v. United States, 350 U.S. 961, 76 S.Ct. 440, 100 L.Ed. 835 (1956).” In similar fashion, the question herein revolves around whether or not Dickenson was so (mentally) incompetent so as to render the pre-trial and trial proceedings void of due process standards.1

In light of the above, the test used in measuring due process violations was enunciated by the Supreme Court in Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 80 S.Ct. 788, 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960). The Court therein stated that the:

* * * test must be whether (the accused) * * * has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding — and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.

[930]*930See, Grennett v. United States, 131 U.S.App.D.C. 202, 403 F.2d 928, 930 (1968); Hansford v. United States, 124 U.S.App.D.C. 387, 365 F.2d 920, 922 (1966).

The records show that this court, by order of March 27, 1964, committed the petitioner to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D. C., for a mental examination. The report, by letter dated May 25, 1964, from the Acting Superintendent, David W. Harris, M.D., stated as follows :

Mr. Ronnie D. Dickenson was admitted to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital on April 2, 1964, for mental observation for a period not to exceed sixty days.
Mr. Dickenson’s case has been studied since his admission to the hospital and he has been examined by qualified psychiatrists. On May 20, 1964, he was examined and his case reviewed in detail at a medical staff conference.
As a result of our examinations and observations it is our opinion that Ronnie D. Dickenson is mentally competent for trial. There is no indication that on or about January 22, 1964 this patient was suffering from mental disease or defect.
(See page 25 — Habeas Corpus Hearing Transcript) November 22, 1965.

From the foregoing it appears that the petitioner was competent to stand trial at the time in question.2 Dickenson however asserts that it was during and after his stay at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital that he contracted mental illness through the use of drugs. It seems apparent from petitioner’s own statements in his petition that during the time he was being examined and observed at St. Elizabeth’s he was under the influence of narcotic drugs. The medical report shows no signs of such a conclusion. It seems highly doubtful that the examining personnel would not detect the alleged narcotic use.

However, for the sake of argument, let us assume that the petitioner’s allegation of his use of narcotic drugs is correct. The courts have interpreted cases, wherein the use of narcotic drugs were present, as not necessarily demonstrating that an individual was incompetent. The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said in Grennett v. United States, supra,

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Related

Dusky v. United States
362 U.S. 402 (Supreme Court, 1960)
Pate v. Robinson
383 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Norman Lee Pledger v. United States
272 F.2d 69 (Fourth Circuit, 1959)
Ben Holmes v. United States
323 F.2d 430 (Seventh Circuit, 1963)
United States v. David Tom
340 F.2d 127 (Second Circuit, 1965)
David L. Hansford v. United States
365 F.2d 920 (D.C. Circuit, 1966)
Chester C. White v. United States
367 F.2d 788 (Eighth Circuit, 1966)
Raleigh R. Powell v. United States
373 F.2d 225 (D.C. Circuit, 1967)
Theodore Grennett v. United States
403 F.2d 928 (D.C. Circuit, 1968)
Wood v. United States
251 F. Supp. 310 (W.D. Virginia, 1966)
V. P. Serodino, Inc. v. United States
350 U.S. 961 (Supreme Court, 1956)
Bishop v. United States
350 U.S. 961 (Supreme Court, 1956)

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Bluebook (online)
313 F. Supp. 928, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11846, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickenson-v-united-states-vawd-1970.