State v. Colvin

452 So. 2d 1214
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 6, 1984
Docket15966-KA
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 452 So. 2d 1214 (State v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Colvin, 452 So. 2d 1214 (La. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

452 So.2d 1214 (1984)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee,
v.
James Lee COLVIN, Appellant.

No. 15966-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

June 6, 1984.
Rehearing Denied July 6, 1984.
Writ Denied October 5, 1984.

*1217 Hargrove, Guyton, Ramey & Barlow by Paul A. Strickland, Shreveport, for appellant.

William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara B. Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Baton Rouge, Paul J. Carmouche, Dist. Atty., Carey T. Schimpf, Tommy J. Johnson, Asst. Dist. Attys., Shreveport, for appellee.

Before HALL, JASPER E. JONES and SEXTON, JJ.

HALL, Judge.

James Lee Colvin was charged with Armed Robbery in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:64 by bill of information filed August 27, 1982. After trial by jury, defendant was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to serve 80 years at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. He appealed, urging reversal of his conviction and sentence on the basis of 12 assigned errors.

On July 12, 1982, a man entered the Sausage & Cheese Store on Line Avenue in Shreveport. The man, who was armed with a gun, approached the cashier and asked her what time it was. While holding the gun on her he told her it was time to "hit the register" and demanded that she open the cash drawer and give him the money. A male employee handed over the money from the cash drawer. The armed man remained in the store approximately ten minutes threatening the four employees with the gun and forcing them to lie on the floor. At one point during the robbery, he pressed the gun firmly to the forehead of a female employee. Another woman employee was grabbed by the man and thrown to the ground.

On July 26, 1982, defendant was arrested by the Shreveport Police Department on an unrelated charge. Subsequently, a lineup was conducted and each of the four employees of the Sausage & Cheese Store identified defendant as the armed robber.

Defendant initially pled not guilty but later changed his plea to not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. A motion for *1218 a sanity hearing was filed on October 6, 1982. The Sanity Commission returned their reports and the district judge determined after a hearing that the defendant was competent to stand trial.

ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR NO. 3, 8, and 9:

Since these assignments of error were not briefed nor argued, they are considered abandoned. State v. Wright, 445 So.2d 1198 (La.1984).

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1:

Defendant asserts as error the trial court's denial of his motion for further testing after a court-appointed Sanity Commission found him competent to stand trial. He sought to determine by further tests whether he suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy. As asserted after trial, defendant's contention relates both to his defense of insanity at the time of the offense and to his capacity to understand the nature of the proceedings against him and to assist in his own defense.

Four doctors were appointed by the court to examine defendant. However, only three reported as defendant refused to be examined by one of the doctors. One doctor stated in his report that although the defendant manifested abnormal or unusual behavior, he could not definitely state that defendant had a mental disorder or deficiency which would render him incapable of cooperating with his attorney or that he had any mental disorder at the time of the commission of the offense with which he was charged. Another doctor included the details of his interview with Colvin in his report, recounting Colvin's auditory hallucinations and delusions and concluded that Colvin was incompetent to stand trial.

The third doctor conducted the most extensive investigation of Colvin's prior medical history. After his initial interview with defendant, the doctor concluded that although Colvin exhibited noticeably bizarre behavior, he appeared to be faking or malingering, warranting further study before diagnosis or recommendation as to his capacity to proceed to trial. After further review of Colvin's records, the doctor found that psychological testing demonstrated evidence of faking or malingering and noted that the results of an electroencephalogram and brain scan were normal. He then concluded that defendant was mentally competent to stand trial and further concluded that he was able to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the offense.

After the motion for further testing was made, the trial court determined that further testing was unnecessary and found the defendant capable of standing trial. Defendant made an application for writs to this court, which was denied. This court held that the record showed that a full and complete sanity hearing was held and the evidence therein supported the finding of the trial court of defendant's capacity to proceed. We adhere to the original ruling of this court that the findings of the sanity commission were complete.

Mental incapacity to proceed must be shown by the defendant by a clear preponderance of the evidence. The trial judge's determination of capacity to stand trial is entitled to great weight. State v. Machon, 410 So.2d 1065 (La.1982). Due process and statutory law require that the issue of defendant's mental capacity to proceed shall be determined by the court. This cardinal principle permits the court to receive the aid of expert medical testimony but prohibits it from committing the ultimate decision of competency to a physician or anyone else. The court also may not base its decision solely upon an expert's conclusion which has no rational basis in the facts contained in the record of the contradictory hearing. State v. Rogers, 419 So.2d 840 (La.1982).

If defendant is indigent and forced to rely exclusively upon the findings of the court-appointed sanity commission rather than a private physician of his own choice, he is entitled to a thorough examination, and ought not be responsible for any lack of diligence by the commission appointed to examine him. State v. Coco, 371 So.2d 803 *1219 (La.1979). A defendant must, however, present evidence to support his contention that physical tests are indispensable. State v. Bastida, 310 So.2d 629 (La.1975).

For purposes of the insanity defense, the burden is on the defendant to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was insane at the time of the offense. The defendant must show that he suffered from a mental disease or defect which rendered him incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with reference to the conduct in question. LSA-R.S. 14:14; State v. Hamilton, 441 So.2d 1192 (La.1983).

Although defendant had the burden of establishing his incapacity to proceed and his insanity at the time of the offense, defendant has not shown that further testing would have resulted in evidence of either insanity at the time of the offense or incapacity to assist in his own defense. Although there was an indication of possible temporal lobe epilepsy in defendant's medical history, Dr. E.H. Leatherman, one expert who was called on the defendant's behalf, testified that a person suffering from a temporal lobe epileptic seizure would not have sufficient motor coordination to drive to a store with a gun, and threaten and rob its occupants. Further, defendant makes no claim that he was unable to understand the nature of the proceedings against him or assist in his defense because of this condition.

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452 So. 2d 1214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-colvin-lactapp-1984.