State v. Quinlivan

499 P.2d 1268, 81 Wash. 2d 124, 72 A.L.R. 3d 835, 1972 Wash. LEXIS 714
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 10, 1972
Docket41889
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 499 P.2d 1268 (State v. Quinlivan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Quinlivan, 499 P.2d 1268, 81 Wash. 2d 124, 72 A.L.R. 3d 835, 1972 Wash. LEXIS 714 (Wash. 1972).

Opinion

Finley, J.

Defendant appeals from convictions upon counts of kidnapping in the first degree, murder in the second degree, and murder in the first degree, and from the imposition of the death penalty for first-degree murder.

The crimes involved took place on December 19th and 20th, 1963. They were an outgrowth in one way or another *125 of a relationship that defendant had in 1963 with one Joan Marlatt. Defendant lived for a while with Mrs. Marlatt but she left him when, according to her, he refused to work and subjected her to physical abuse. She then went to live with her mother, Gladys Bodine. After Mrs. Marlatt’s departure, defendant made continued efforts to see her.

On .the afternoon of December 19, 1963, defendant asked a friend to drive him to Kent. The friend did so, leaving defendant near the home of Mrs. Bodine, and finally returning to Seattle when defendant did not come back to the car. Earlier that afternoon defendant had stated that he was going out to see Mrs. Bodine to get some “right answers” about his relationship with Mrs. Marlatt. The defendant later stated that he had used some physical force on Mrs. Bodine when she failed to give satisfactory answers to his questions, but he said that she was alive when he left her. On the following day, however, Mrs. Bodine was found dead in her house; an autopsy revealed that she had been strangled. The defendant was charged with murder in the first degree, and convicted of murder in the second degree, in connection with the death of Mrs. Bodine.

The events of the day following Mrs. Bodine’s death were originally described by defendant in a statement he made to the King County Sheriff’s Office. In this statement he related that he asked his friend Fritz Donahue to drive him, together with his personal belongings which included a rifle, to see Mrs. Marlatt in Kent. In searching for her they lost their way and eventually stopped so that the defendant could relieve himself. Both defendant and Donahue got out of the car and defendant took his rifle out of the car to show it to Donahue. According to this statement, defendant slipped in the mud and the gun went off. He saw a shadow and became scared and ran into the woods. In a later statement, however, the defendant admitted that he had intentionally aimed and fired the rifle at Donahue. Police investigation revealed that the scene of Donahue’s death was muddy, and that there were signs that somebody had slipped. However, the autopsy of Donahue indicated *126 that he had died of a gunshot wound in the head, with the wound in a horizontal plane—facts which are consistent with the gun being held at shoulder level and directly fired at the victim. As a result of this incident defendant was charged with and convicted of murder in the first degree of Fritz Donahue.

The record shows that the defendant came out of the woods at the home of Mrs. Patricia Jean Jaque. He forced his way into her home at rifle point and eventually made her drive him to his brother’s house. The defendant then demanded that Mrs. Jaque drive him to Tacoma. While on the way there she and the defendant were apprehended by law enforcement personnel. As a result of this incident, defendant was charged with and convicted of kidnapping in the first degree.

Defendant pled not guilty to these charges and also entered a special plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. The case-was originally brought to trial on Juñe 1, 1964, but an order was entered in which the defendant was held incapable of appreciating his peril and rationally assisting in his defense. The trial proceedings were stayed and defendant was committed to Eastern State Hospital. In July of 1968, defendant was again ordered to stand trial, and was again found incompetent. The case finally came to trial on the merits on January 13, 1971. Verdicts were returned on January 31, 1971. The defendant was found guilty of’murder in the second degree in the death of Mrs. Bodine; of murder in the first degree in the death of Fritz Donahue, and the death penalty was imposed; and of kidnapping in the first degree in the abduction of Mrs. Jaque.

In this appeal error is assigned to several actions of the trial court. Appellant’s second assignment of error, relating to the trial court’s insanity instruction, is the basis for our disposition of this case, granting a new trial; The court’s instruction No. 25, on the defense of insanity, provided in relevant part:

Concerning the defendant’s plea of insanity at the time of the alleged commission of the acts charged in the infor *127 mation, you are instructed that by such plea the defendant puts in question whether at such time he had such mental capacity or moral freedom to do or abstain from doing the acts charged. Not every form of mental derangement, nor every unsound condition of mind constitutes such legal insanity or mental irresponsibility. The test is: Does a person have sufficient mental capacity at the time of the commission of an act to comprehend what he was doing and distinguish right from wrong with relation to such act? If, under all the evidence, you find that the defendant was possessed of sufficient mental capacity or moral freedom to comprehend the nature of his acts, to distinguish right from wrong as to such acts, then said plea avails him nothing.

(Italics ours).

Appellant Quinlivan contends that this instruction is error because it combines the requirements of proof of the American Law Institute “irresistible impulse” test with the required elements of the M’Naghten test, thereby creating an added and improper burden for the defendant to meet in attempting to demonstrate his insanity. We agree.

A majority of this court has consistently held that the so-called M’Naghten rule is the proper test for insanity in this state. State v. Reece, 79 Wn.2d 453, 486 P.2d 1088 (1971); Seattle v. Hill, 72 Wn.2d 786, 435 P.2d 692 (1967); State v. Collins, 50 Wn.2d 740, 314 P.2d 660 (1957). Under this test the jury is properly instructed to ask itself the following question:

Is the mind of the accused so diseased or affected at the time of the commission of the act charged that he is unable to perceive the moral qualities of the act with which , he is charged and is unable to tell right from wrong with reference to the particular acts charged.

State v. Reece, supra at 454.

Competing with the M’Naghten rule for judicial acceptance is the A.L.I. test, which provides that:

A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as the result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law.

*128 State v. Reece, supra at 454.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Cross
156 Wash. 2d 580 (Washington Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Benn
845 P.2d 289 (Washington Supreme Court, 1993)
In Re the Personal Restraint of Rupe
798 P.2d 780 (Washington Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Artis
384 S.E.2d 470 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1989)
State v. Rice
757 P.2d 889 (Washington Supreme Court, 1988)
State v. Ramseur
524 A.2d 188 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1987)
State v. Kwan Fai Mak
718 P.2d 407 (Washington Supreme Court, 1986)
State v. Jeffries
717 P.2d 722 (Washington Supreme Court, 1986)
People v. Stewart
473 N.E.2d 1227 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1984)
State v. Crenshaw
659 P.2d 488 (Washington Supreme Court, 1983)
State v. Crenshaw
617 P.2d 1041 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1980)
In re the Personal Restraint of Quinlivan
588 P.2d 1210 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1978)
State v. Thomas
507 P.2d 153 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 1973)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
499 P.2d 1268, 81 Wash. 2d 124, 72 A.L.R. 3d 835, 1972 Wash. LEXIS 714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-quinlivan-wash-1972.