People v. Voth

2013 CO 61, 312 P.3d 144, 2013 WL 5706711
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedOctober 21, 2013
DocketSupreme Court Case No. 13SA113
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 2013 CO 61 (People v. Voth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Voth, 2013 CO 61, 312 P.3d 144, 2013 WL 5706711 (Colo. 2013).

Opinion

JUSTICE RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 In this original C.A.R. 21 proceeding, we review the trial court's oral order allowing the Defendant, Paul Voth, to assert involuntary intoxication as an affirmative defense under section 18-1-804, C.R.S. (2018). We issued a rule to show cause why the trial court's order should not be vacated. We now hold that the trial court abused its discretion when it found that a virus qualifies as a "substance" that can result in intoxication under section 18-1-804. The trial court therefore also abused its discretion in finding that Voth was entitled to assert involuntary intoxication because this finding was based on an erroneous view of the word "substance." Accordingly, we make the rule absolute and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

¶ 2 Because the trial court based its findings (in part) on our prior dictum suggesting that insanity cannot be temporary under Colorado's statutory framework, we take this opportunity to clarify People v. Garcia, 113 P.3d 775, 782 (Colo.2005), and Bieber v. People, 856 P.2d 811, 817 (Colo.1993). As we noted in People v. Low, 732 P.2d 622, 626 n. 4, 632 (Colo.1987), Colorado does not have a special statutory provision for "temporary insanity" because the general definition of insanity outlined in section 16-8-101.5, C.R.S. (2013), encompasses both temporary and long-term bouts of insanity. Accordingly, a defendant who was found to be legally insane at the time of the offense, but shortly thereafter regains sanity, may assert insanity as an affirmative defense if he or she meets all of the other relevant requirements.

I. Facts

¶ 3 On June 16, 2012, Voth was arrested after firing several gunshots in a rural subdivision where he lived. David Arnold, one of Voth's neighbors, initially saw Voth shooting at a stack of wood pallets near Voth's garage. Shortly thereafter, Arnold, who was standing on the front deck of his home, called out to Voth from across the street, and Voth fired his handgun toward Arnold. Voth then fired a second shot toward Arnold, prompting Arnold to retreat into his home and call 911. While Arnold and his wife were waiting for police officers to arrive, they heard more gunfire and then saw Voth standing on their front deck. Police officers intervened when Voth began shaking the front door knob in an attempt to gain entry to the Arnolds' home.

¶ 4 Following his arrest, Voth was taken to the emergency room at Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center. He was then transferred to Denver Health Medical Center ("Denver Health"), where he remained from June 17 to July 2, 2012. Denver Health reported that Voth was disoriented when he arrived at the hospital due to visual and auditory hallucinations. Voth's delirium began to subside around July 25, 2012.1 Although Denver Health suspected that viral encephalitis was the source of Voth's psychotic episode, it was unable to reach a definitive diagnosis. °

II. Procedural History

¶ 5 The People charged Voth with the following six counts: (1) attempted second degree murder; (2) attempted first degree burglary; (8) second degree assault; (4) felony menacing; (5) illegal discharge of a firearm; and (6) reckless endangerment. On August 29, 2012, Voth entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity ("NGRI") pursuant to seetion 16-8-101.5, and the trial court ordered a mental health evaluation as required by seetion 16-8-105.5, C.R.S. (2018).

T6 Dr. Richard Pounds conducted the court-ordered mental health evaluation and diagnosed Voth with resolved delirium due to a general medical condition, sustained remission alcohol dependence, and hypertension. In his report, Dr. Pounds concluded that Voth was presently competent but that Voth met the statutory criteria for legal insanity on the date of the incident. Dr. Pounds opined that the most likely cause of Voth's psychotic episode was an unidentified viral [147]*147infection. Significantly, Dr. Pounds considered and explicitly rejected the possibility that the psychotic episode was the result of intoxication.

17 After receiving Dr. Pounds's report, the People stipulated to the NGRI finding and requested that Voth be committed to a mental health facility pursuant to People v. Laeke, 2012 CO. 18, 1 17, 271 P.3d 1111, 1115-16 (holding that a defendant does not have the right to a jury trial where a plea of NGRI is entered and the prosecution concedes that the defendant was insane at the time of the offense), and section 16-8-105.5(4) (requiring that a defendant found NGRI be committed to the department of human services for care and psychiatric treatment until he or she is deemed eligible for release). Thereafter, Voth attempted to withdraw his NGRI plea. The People objected, and the trial court scheduled a hearing to determine if Voth would be allowed to present evidence of his medical condition in the absence of an NGRI plea.

18 At the hearing, Voth raised the affirmative defense of involuntary intoxication for the first time.2 Dr. Pounds testified by phone in support of Voth's new defense. Specifically, Dr. Pounds testified that Voth had suffered a disturbance of mental capacities at the time of the incident as required by section 18-1-804 and that this disturbance was caused by an unidentified viral infection.3

19 Contrary to Dr. Pounds's initial report-where he concluded that Voth was legally insane on the date of the incident and that his condition "did not fit a pattern of intoxication for any substance [he was] familiar with"-Dr. Pounds testified that he now believed that Voth met the legal criteria for involuntary intoxication. Dr. Pounds stated that his new conclusion was based on his review of People v. Garcia, 118 P.3d 775 (Colo.2005), which suggests that Colorado's statutory framework does not recognize temporary insanity.4 Acknowledging that he did not "think any medical physician would refer to [a viral] encephalitis as an intoxication," Dr. Pounds made a point to confine his conclusion to the legal context. Transcript of Hearing at 88, People v. Voth, 2012CRT2 (Chaffee Dist, Mar. 14, 2018) [hereinafter Transcript] ("[WJe're talking intoxication as a legal term.").

110 Following Dr. Pounds's testimony, Voth asked the trial court to find that the evidence was sufficient to submit the affirmative defense of involuntary intoxication to the jury. Despite the People's objection, the trial court issued an oral order finding that Voth's offer of proof met the requirements for involuntary intoxication as outlined in Garcia. Importantly, the trial court's finding was premised on its belief that a virus qualifies as a "substance" under section 18-1-804(4),

11 The People petitioned this Court under C.A.R. 21 for a review of the trial court's order. Specifically, the People contended that the trial court abused its discretion when it found that a virus constitutes a "substance" under section 18-1-804(4). We issued a rule to show cause why the trial court's order should not be vacated.

IIL. Original Jurisdiction

$12 Original relief pursuant to C.A.R. 21 is an extraordinary remedy that is limited both in purpose and availability. [148]*148People v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2013 CO 61, 312 P.3d 144, 2013 WL 5706711, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-voth-colo-2013.