United States v. Steil

753 F. Supp. 806, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17281, 1989 WL 234043
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJuly 21, 1989
DocketCiv. No. 3-89-289
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 753 F. Supp. 806 (United States v. Steil) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Steil, 753 F. Supp. 806, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17281, 1989 WL 234043 (mnd 1989).

Opinion

ORDER

RENNER, District Judge.

The above-entitled matter comes before the Court upon the Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate. No objections have been filed to that. Report and Recommendation in the time period permitted.

Based upon the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate, and all the files, records and proceedings herein,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the proceeding with respect to the 18 U.S.C. § 4246 petition to determine the present mental condition of Mr. Steil is properly venued in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota where Mr. Steil is presently in custody pursuant to a commitment under 18 U.S.C. § 4241.

IT IS ORDERED that the motion of the respondent to dismiss is DENIED.

DATED: July 19, 1989.

REPORT & RECOMMENDATION

BERNARD P. BECKER, United States Magistrate.

This matter is presently before the Court on respondent’s motion to dismiss the government’s petition for lack of jurisdiction and improper venue. This action was commenced by the United States on May 8, 1989, as a petition seeking an order determining that respondent is a person incarcerated in a federal institution and is mentally ill and dangerous and requesting relief by way of an order continuing the commitment of respondent. The relief specifically requested is that respondent be held for care and treatment until such time as he becomes competent to stand trial or until suitable state placement is found or until respondent is released or conditionally released under a prescribed regimen of medical psychiatric or psychological care or treatment and he would no longer create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to the property of another or until all criminal charges against respondent are dismissed solely for reasons not related to his mental condition.

The respondent has moved to dismiss the proceedings based upon his reading of 18 U.S.C. § 4246 and his contention that the proper place for any proceeding initiated by the government to determine his continued mental condition as well as his dangerousness is in the district from which he was committed rather than the district in which he is presently being held.1 Concisely put, the respondent’s position is that the third sentence of section 4246(a) refers to “the court [which] shall order a hearing.” In the prior section of that statute, the language refers to the Clerk of the Court that ordered the commitment, in this case, the [808]*808court that ordered the commitment was the Northern District of Ohio. This issue has arisen in analogous situations on a number of occasions since the adoption of the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984, Pub. Law 98-473. The basic issue can be succinctly put — is the court which ordered the commitment the appropriate place for any further proceedings relative to the competency or continued entitlement of the government to maintain custody of the respondent or is the appropriate court the court in the district in which the individual is presently incarcerated or being held for treatment. The issue does not appear to involve jurisdiction, only the appropriate venue for further commitment proceedings. See 18 U.S.C. § 3231.

This case would be relatively simple to decide if it were based upon 18 U.S.C. § 4245. In United States v. Jones, 811 F.2d 444 (8th Cir.1987) the Court of Appeals for this circuit addressed the question of commitment proceedings brought pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 4245 (a person in need of care and treatment after conviction). Under section 4245, a certificate is filed in the district in which the facility is located and where the person is confined. See 18 U.S.C. § 4245(a). The respondent argues that in the case of the commitment of a person who has not been convicted but has been committed because of his present incompetency, the “court” referred to in section 4246, third sentence, is the court from which the person was committed rather than the court where he is presently located.

The statute does not appear to be as clear the government argues. There is some degree of ambiguity with respect to the appropriate place of venue for purposes of a section 4246 petition. The legislative history of the Insanity Defense Reform Act is not particularly helpful on this question. While old 18 U.S.C. § 4244 provided for evaluation of a defendant’s competency to stand trial, old 18 U.S.C. § 4247 provided for a similar transmission by the Attorney General of a certificate to the Clerk of Court for the district in which the person is confined. Apparently the hearing was held under the old formulation of the statute in the district in which the person was confined rather than the district in which the charges were pending. See Clark v. Settle, 206 F.Supp. 74, 78 (W.D.Mo.1962). From that scant legislative background, the government argues that since the Congress was aware of the predecessor statute and its judicial interpretations, Congress could have easily changed or clarified its intent if the process was to be substantially altered. Of course, in the government view, the Congress chose not to do so.

More significant to this Court are the two recent cases which touch in part upon aspects of this venue problem. United States v. Baker, 807 F.2d 1315 (6th Cir.1986) and United States v. Jones, 811 F.2d 444 (8th Cir.1987). In Baker, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that “a certificate must be filed and a section 4246 hearing must be held in the district in which the individual is confined, not in the district in which he had initially charged with an offense.” 807 F.2d at 1324. Baker was charged with violating the conditions of his probation. In a similar, but not an identical situation, the Eighth Circuit has dealt with the commitment of an individual under section 4245 subsequent to that person’s conviction and incarceration in a federal institution. The Jones court addressed various issues related to those commitment proceedings and included a discussion of what constitutes the district of confinement. Under section 4245, a certificate is filed in the district in which the facility is located where the person is confined. See 18 U.S.C. § 4245(a).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
753 F. Supp. 806, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17281, 1989 WL 234043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-steil-mnd-1989.