Schaffer v. State

583 S.W.2d 627, 1979 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1568
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 18, 1979
Docket57574
StatusPublished
Cited by53 cases

This text of 583 S.W.2d 627 (Schaffer v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schaffer v. State, 583 S.W.2d 627, 1979 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1568 (Tex. 1979).

Opinions

OPINION

ONION, Presiding Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction for attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a child, where the punishment was assessed by the court at fifty (50) years following a guilty verdict and in light of the allegation and proof of a prior felony conviction.

The sufficiency of the evidence is not challenged except as to a question of venue which is without merit, but we are confronted at the outset with appellant’s contention that the trial court erred in allowing him to stand trial without a judicial determination that he was competent to stand trial after he had earlier been found incompetent to stand trial by a jury and subsequently committed to Rusk State Hospital.

The record reflects that appellant was originally indicted for the primary offense on April 22, 1976 in Cause No. 26,628 and was later found by the verdict of a jury to be incompetent to stand trial. On May 28, 1976, the trial court ordered the appellant confined in the Rusk State Hospital. On February 1, 1977, Dr. Robert B. Sheldon, Superintendent of said hospital, apparently certified in a letter and final report to the trial court that appellant was then mentally competent to stand trial. No action appears to have been taken on such certification or notification. On March 31, 1977, however, the appellant was reindicted for the same primary offense with an allegation of a prior felony conviction for the enhancement of punishment in Cause No. 26,752. On April 1,1976 the original indictment in Cause No. 26,628 was dismissed. On April 28, 1977, a trial was had upon the second indictment which resulted in a mistrial. The case was again set for May 16, 1977, at which time the trial resulted in the present conviction from which this appeal is taken.

Appellant argues that the notification by the superintendent of a state hospital that a person is competent to stand trial is not a judicial determination. He contends that once a jury determines that a defendant is incompetent to stand trial and the defendant is committed to a state hospital that there should be a judicial determination that he is competent before being forced to trial even though there may be a certification of competency from the superintendent of the state hospital where he may have been confined. He urges that there should be some form of judicial restoration before the trial on the merits.

Article 46.02, V.A.C.C.P., deals with the procedure used when the issue of competency to stand trial is raised. § 5 thereof (Acts [629]*6291975, 64th Leg., ch. 415, p. 1095) in effect at the time of appellant’s certification 1 and subsequent trial on the second indictment reads in part as follows:

“Sec. 5. (a) When a defendant has been determined incompetent to stand trial, and unless it is determined there is no substantial probability that the defendant will attain competency to stand trial in the foreseeable future, the court shall enter an order committing the defendant to the maximum security unit of Rusk State Hospital, to the maximum security unit of any other facility designated by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, to an agency of the United States operating a mental hospital, or to a Veterans Administration hospital for a period not to exceed 12 months and placing him in the custody of the sheriff for transportation to the facility to be confined therein for further examination and treatment toward the specific objective of attaining competency to stand trial. A transcript of all medical testimony received by the jury shall be forthwith prepared by the court reporter and shall accompany the patient to the facility.
“(b) No person shall be committed to a mental health or mental retardation facility under this section except on competent medical or psychiatric testimony.
“(c) * * *
“(d) * * *
“(e) The head of a facility to which a person has been committed pursuant to Subsection (a) of this section shall promptly notify the committing court:
“(1) when he is of the opinion that the defendant has attained competency to stand trial; or
“(2) when he is of the opinion that there is no substantial probability that the defendant will attain the competency to stand trial in the foreseeable future; or
“(3) 14 days prior to the expiration of 12 months following the date of the commitment order.
“(f) On notification to the committing court under Subsection (e) of this section, the sheriff of the county in which the committing court is located shall forthwith transport the defendant to the committing court.
“(g) When the head of a facility to which the defendant is committed discharges the defendant and the defendant is returned to court, a final report shall be filed with the court documenting the applicable reason therefor under Subsection (e) of this section, and the court shall furnish copies to the defense counsel and the prosecuting attorney. If the defendant has no counsel and the court determines that the defendant is indigent, the court shall appoint counsel to represent him. When the report is filed with the court, the court is authorized to make a determination based solely on the report with regard to the defendant’s competency to stand trial, unless the prosecuting attorney or the defense counsel objects in writing or in open court to the findings of the report within 15 days from the time the report is served on the parties. In the event of objection, the issue shall be set for a hearing before the court or, on motion by the defendant, his counsel, the prosecuting attorney, or the court, the hearing shall be held before a jury. The hearing shall be held within 30 days following the date of objection unless continued for good cause.
“(h) If the defendant is found competent to stand trial, criminal proceedings against him may be resumed. If the defendant is found incompetent to stand trial, the court shall proceed under Section 6 of this article or shall release the defendant. No defendant who has been committed to a facility under Subsection (a) of this section may be recommitted to a facility under that subsection in connection with the same offense.
“(i) If the charges pending against a defendant are dismissed, the committing court shall send a copy of the order of dismissal to the head of the facility in [630]*630which the defendant is held and the defendant shall then be discharged.”

The statute is clear as to the procedure to be used. When a defendant is returned to the committing court after notification by the head of the facility where he has been confined, a final report shall be filed with the court by the head of the facility documenting the applicable reason for such action under Subsection (e), supra. Copies of such report must be furnished to the defense counsel and the prosecuting attorney. When the report is filed, the trial court is authorized to make a finding of a defendant’s competency to stand trial based solely on the report unless the parties object in writing or in open court to the findings of the report within fifteen days from the time the report is served on the parties. If there is an objection, the issue is set for a hearing before the court unless on motion by either party or the court the hearing shall be heard before a jury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
583 S.W.2d 627, 1979 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schaffer-v-state-texcrimapp-1979.