People v. Sanders

98 Cal. App. 3d 273, 159 Cal. Rptr. 413, 1979 Cal. App. LEXIS 2271
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 31, 1979
DocketCrim. 18496
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 98 Cal. App. 3d 273 (People v. Sanders) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Sanders, 98 Cal. App. 3d 273, 159 Cal. Rptr. 413, 1979 Cal. App. LEXIS 2271 (Cal. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

*275 Opinion

WHITE, P. J.

In an information filed in the Superior Court of Napa County defendant and appellant David Roy Sanders was charged with violations of Penal Code section 217 (assault with intent to commit murder) and Penal Code section 245, subdivision (a) (assault with a deadly weapon). Appellant pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to each count. On the first day of jury trial the court dismissed count one (assault with intent to commit murder) on the prosecutor’s motion. The jury found appellant guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. Since both psychiatrists who had examined appellant concluded that he was sane, appellant withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Appellant was sentenced to prison for three years for assault with a deadly weapon plus a two-year enhancement for use of a firearm. Appellant received 121 days of presentence credit on his sentence. Appellant contends on appeal that since the California Supreme Court adopted the American Law Institute (ALI) test for insanity, he should be granted a new trial on the issue of insanity. Appellant also contends on appeal that he is entitled to work time/good time credit for the time he was in presentence custody.

On the morning of February 1, 1978, appellant drove to the California Veterans Home in Yountville and confronted Gary Crabtree, a groundsman at the hospital. After some conversation, Crabtree was observed to raise his hands and wave them in a defensive gesture. Appellant then produced a .22 caliber pistol and shot him. The victim fell to the ground shouting, “‘Help, I’ve been shot,’” and appellant walked away.

Appellant then drove to the Napa County Sheriff’s office where he identified himself to Maxine Moody, a clerk, and informed her that he wanted to surrender himself because he had “‘just shot someone.’” Moments later appellant informed a dispatcher, Michael Loughran, that his weapon was on the seat of his car. Sergeant Harold Snook recovered the weapon from appellant’s car.

The victim recovered but he suffered a severe injury to his right leg and pelvic area.

*276 Insanity

In People v. Drew (1978) 22 Cal.3d 333 [149 Cal.Rptr. 275, 583 P.2d 1318], the California Supreme Court held the M’Naghten test for insanity should no longer be applied and replaced it with the American Law Institute (ALI) test which provides as follows: “‘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.’” (Id., at pp. 336-337, fn. 3.) The M’Naghten test provided: “‘[T]o establish a defence on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly provided that, at the time of the committing the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.’” (Id., at p. 336, fn. 2.) The ALI test adds a volitional element to the M’Naghten test’s exclusive emphasis on cognition. (People v. Wischemann (1979) 94 Cal.App.3d 162, 168 [156 Cal.Rptr. 386]; People v. Phillips (1979) 90 Cal.App.3d 356, 365 [153 Cal.Rptr. 359].)

The Supreme Court in Drew held, “This decision will apply retroactively only to those cases not yet final in which the defendant has pled not guilty by reason of insanity and to cases that have not yet come to trial as of the date of the finality of this opinion.” (People v. Drew, supra, 22 Cal.3d 333, 348.) Appellant contends that since he pled not guilty by reason of insanity, Drew requires remand of this case for a limited new trial on the issue raised by such a plea. On the other hand the People contend that Drew offers no comfort to defendants, who chose not to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, and that appellant placed himself in this class by withdrawing his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

We hold that not every defendant who withdraws his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is entitled to the benefit of Drew. However, Drew does apply to the instant case. The trial court appointed three psychiatrists to examine appellant pursuant to Penal Code sections 1026 and 1027. Two of the psychiatrists examined appellant and submitted reports to the court. Each of these psychiatrists determined that appellant knew the difference between right and wrong. Because of these reports, appellant, after the jury found him guilty of assault with a *277 deadly weapon, withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. For purposes of receiving the benefit of the change in the law, appellant is in substantially the same posture as any defendant who lacked sufficient evidence to convince a jury of his insanity under the M’Naghten test. It would be inequitable to treat appellant more harshly because counsel sought to conserve judicial resources rather than what, in light of the preliminary psychiatric reports, would have been an unsuccessful M’Naghten defense.

Appellant should be distinguished from a defendant who withdraws his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity before psychiatrists or psychologists have been appointed to examine the defendant and have in fact examined the defendant and submitted reports. Under Drew the failure to apply the ALI test is not reversible per se. The function of the reviewing court is to examine the record and to determine whether the error was prejudicial under the California Constitution, article VI, section 13; to wit, whether it is reasonably probable a different result would have been reached under the ALI test. (People v. Wischemann, supra, 94 Cal.App.3d, 162, 168-169; People v. Phillips, supra, 90 Cal.App.3d 356, 365-366.) This function cannot be performed by the reviewing court unless the record contains some evidence of a defendant’s mental condition. If the record does contain the reports of psychiatrists who have been appointed to examine a defendant, this function may be performed. Under such circumstances a defendant is entitled to the benefits of Drew.

Our function now becomes to determine whether appellant might have been successful on a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity under the ALI test. One of the psychiatrists who examined appellant concluded, “In my opinion, this individual was sane at the time of the above offense, that he knew the difference between right and wrong and that he was able to adhere to the right.” Under this psychiatrist’s opinion appellant would be sane under the ALI test. The other psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Wyckoff, who examined appellant concluded, “This patient is not psychotic and is not ‘Insane’ nor was he ‘Insane’ at the time of the offense as such term is used in the relevant statutes.

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Related

People v. Martin
108 Cal. App. 3d 1014 (California Court of Appeal, 1980)
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104 Cal. App. 3d 380 (California Court of Appeal, 1980)

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Bluebook (online)
98 Cal. App. 3d 273, 159 Cal. Rptr. 413, 1979 Cal. App. LEXIS 2271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-sanders-calctapp-1979.