State v. Crochet

354 So. 2d 1288
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedDecember 19, 1977
Docket60135
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 354 So. 2d 1288 (State v. Crochet) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Crochet, 354 So. 2d 1288 (La. 1977).

Opinion

354 So.2d 1288 (1977)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Melvin CROCHET.

No. 60135.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

December 19, 1977.
Rehearing Denied March 3, 1978.

*1289 *1290 Gordon Hackman, Boutte, for defendantappellant.

*1291 William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., Barbara Rutledge, Asst. Atty. Gen., Francis Dugas, Dist. Atty., John J. Erny, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.

DENNIS, Justice.

Defendant, Melvin Crochet, was indicted by a Grand Jury for committing aggravated rape, La.R.S. 14:42, on August 5, 1976. He entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Following a six day trial by jury, defendant was found guilty as charged by unanimous vote of the jury. He was sentenced to serve 50 years at hard labor.

On appeal defendant relies upon twentysix assignments of error, which comprise thirteen arguments, for reversal of his conviction and sentence.

On August 5, 1976 the defendant, while armed with a knife, forced the fifteen year old victim and her four year old nephew into the victim's sister-in-law's automobile which was parked at the Sugarland Shopping Center in Lafourche Parish. Defendant drove the car to a cane field behind Central Lafourche High School. Leaving the four year old in the car, the defendant took the victim down a cane row at knife point, made her partially disrobe, and raped her. He then drove her and her nephew back to the shopping center, got into his own automobile, and went to his home in Des Allemands, St. Charles Parish. Later on that same date defendant was arrested and charged with aggravated rape.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

Defendant alleges that the trial judge erred in failing to require an appropriate sanity hearing and that he failed to apply the appropriate standards in assessing defendant's capacity to proceed.

Defendant's complaint centers on the fact that neither of the two doctors appointed to examine him were psychiatrists and that their examinations were inadequate and cursory and revealed very little medical information on which the trial judge could base his ruling that defendant was presently able to stand trial.

Both of the doctors who examined the defendant, and who testified at the hearing that defendant had mental capacity to proceed to trial, were general practitioners. Neither had any special training in the field of psychiatry but one of the doctors had been a deputy coroner since 1955 and had been exposed to people with mental disorders in connection with his duties as deputy coroner.

Dr. Musso testified that while he spent about an hour with the defendant he only devoted fifteen minutes inquiring into the defendant's mental capacity. On cross-examination the doctor admitted that he did not give defendant an I.Q. test and that his interview consisted only of general orientation questions, including some relating back to his childhood, and inquiries relating to the use of drugs and alcohol and his past criminal record. Upon questioning by the district attorney, Dr. Musso stated that the defendant appeared well oriented as to time and place, was cooperative, and understood questions asked of him.

Dr. Madden testified that he spent onehalf hour with the defendant. He asked the defendant why he dropped out of school at age fifteen and questioned defendant regarding his understanding of the crime of aggravated rape. Dr. Madden stated that the interview with the defendant was quite "limited." Upon questioning by the district attorney, Dr. Madden stated that while defendant was nervous during the interview, he did answer questions responsively.

The composition of the sanity commission is provided by Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 644:

"Within seven days after a mental examination is ordered, the court shall appoint a sanity commission to examine and report upon the mental condition of the defendant. The sanity commission shall consist of at least two and not more than three physicians who are licensed to practice medicine in Louisiana, and have been in the actual practice of medicine for not less than three consecutive years immediately preceding the appointment. No *1292 more than one member of the commission shall be the coroner or any one of his deputies."

There is no requirement in the article that the doctors appointed be psychiatrists. See, State v. Stuart, 344 So.2d 1006 (La.1977). But see, comments under Article 644, "It is contemplated that Louisiana courts will continue their practice of appointing a psychiatrist or psychiatrists when available, as under a similar discretionary provision of amended Article 269 of the 1928 Code of Criminal Procedure."

The refusal to appoint available psychiatrists to a sanity commission would constitute an abuse of discretion, but in the absence of a showing that such a specialist was available for appointment there is no trial error. However, the district court is obliged to review the findings of each physician carefully and to accept his conclusions only if they are reasonable and are founded on an adequate medical examination and other data. In State v. Bennett, 345 So.2d 1129 (La.1977), we set forth some of the appropriate criteria for determining whether an examining physician had conducted a sufficient inquiry into an accused's mental capacity to stand trial. The failure of a physician to consider a substantial number of these criteria indicates a lack of thoroughness or a lack of understanding of the sanity commission's objective. In Bennett, we held that where the record clearly indicates the sanity commissioners failed to consider most of the important criteria for determining competency to stand trial and there was evidence indicating that the defendant was severely mentally retarded the trial judge abused his discretion in not requiring further examination and testing by the physicians. In the instant case the record reflects that the examinations were not as thorough as is desirable, but the evidence does not show that the physicians could not have reasonably reached their conclusions on the basis of their interrogations of defendant regarding his general orientation, childhood, habits and criminal record. The record does not reflect that the doctors disregarded any signs of mental retardation or disorder or that additional mental tests were indicated which they failed to undertake. Accordingly, the instant case is distinguishable from Bennett and we conclude that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion. This assignment lacks merit.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 2

Defendant alleges the trial judge erred in not granting defendant a continuance because his counsel of record had conflicts on the date set for trial and because it was necessary to have defendant examined by a psychiatrist of his own choosing before trial. The record indicates that defense counsel failed to request such a continuance. The period between the October 26th sanity commission hearing and the trial on December 6th provided defendant with an adequate opportunity to arrange for an examination by a doctor of his own choosing.

This assignment lacks merit.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 3

Defendant alleges that the motion to quash the indictment for aggravated rape should have been sustained because the crime carried a mandatory death penalty. A motion in arrest of judgment was filed and denied on this issue also.

In his brief defendant argues that although State v. Sledge, 340 So.2d 205 (La.1976) [see also State v.

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