Opinion
Criminal Action No. 12-cr-00010-MSK-04
11-29-2012
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. 4. GEORGE A. GADDY, Defendant.
JOHN F. WALSH United States Attorney GUY TILL Assistant U.S. Attorney Attorney for Government
GOVERNMENT'S MOTION FOR A PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION
AND DETERMINATION OF THE DEFENDANT'S MENTAL
COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL
The United States, by United States Attorney John F. Walsh, through Assistant United States Attorney Guy Till (Government), hereby respectfully files the Government's Motion for a Psychiatric Evaluation and Determination of the Defendant's Mental Competency to Stand Trial, as to Defendant George A. Gaddy.
1. Title 18 U.S.C. § 4241(a) provides that at any time after the commencement of a prosecution for an offense the attorney for the Government "may file a motion for a hearing to determine the competency of the defendant." The statute provides that the Court shall grant the motion for a hearing if there is "reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and the consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense."
2. In the present case, the Government respectfully asks the Court to take judicial notice of the contents of the Court's own file, and of the defendant's appearance, demeanor and affect while in open Court.
3. The Government respectfully submits there is some basis in the record to conclude the defendant might not be able or willing to assist in his defense. See DOC 746.
4. Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 4241 (c) and 4247 (d) provides that "a psychiatric or psychological examination of the defendant [may] be conducted, and that a psychiatric or psychological report [may] be filed with the court, pursuant to the provisions of section 4247 (b) and (c)." The report filed on November 9, 2012, at DOC 746, was not prepared by a psychiatrist. In part because a medical condition may sometimes lie beneath and profoundly affect a psychological condition, the Government respectfully asks the Court to enter an Order appointing a qualified psychiatrist, pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. § 4241(b), to review all pertinent available personnel, medical, or psychological records and Rule 16 discovery in this case, examine the defendant, and provide a written report addressing the issue of competency to the Court within the next 90 days.
5. Staff of the U.S. Attorney's Office has been in communication with two psychiatrists who indicate a willingness to accept such an appointment. Karen V. Fukutaki, M.D., of Denver, Colorado, and Susan Bograd, MD, of Denver, Colorado have each indicated they are available; the appointment of either psychiatrist is acceptable to the Government. Due to the time of year and the press of other business, the Government anticipates a period of 60 to 90 days would be required to complete the background review, examine pertinent documents and reports, examine the defendant, and submit a report.
6. The Government respectfully suggests the 90 day due date to permit the defense to respond to the Government's request to provide military and Veteran's Affairs records pertaining to the defendant's status and to provide the psychiatrist named by the Court reasonable time to coordinate with the defense for access to the defendant over the Holidays and during January and February of the new year if necessary. On November 29, 2012, Government transmitted Department of Defense records request forms to the defense pertaining to the defendant's military records. Assuming the defense does request the pertinent records, experience has shown it sometimes takes more than a month for the Department of Defense agencies to respond to requests for military records.
7. After the Court ordered psychiatric report has been filed, the Government requests that the matter of the defendant's competency be set for hearing pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. §§ 4241 (c) and 4247 (d).
Respectfully submitted this 29th day of November, 2012.
JOHN F. WALSH
United States Attorney
By:________
GUY TILL
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Attorney for Government
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 29th day of November, 2012, a true and correct copy of the foregoing GOVERNMENT'S MOTION FOR A PSYCHIATRIC EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION OF THE DEFENDANT'S MENTAL COMPETENCY TO STAND TRIAL with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to all counsel of record in this case.
Jeffrey R. Edelman, Esq.
Email: jredel@earthlink.net
U.S. Probation, District of Colorado
By:________
LISA VARGAS
Legal Assistant
1225 Seventeenth Street, Suite 700
Denver, Colorado 80202
Telephone: (303) 454-0100
Facsimile: (303) 454-0409
E-mail: Lisa.Vargas@usdoj.gov