43 N.Y.2d 334 | NY | 1977
OPINION OF THE COURT
We are called upon in this case to consider the constitutional validity of CPL 330.20, which mandates that persons acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect be automatically committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Hygiene without prior hearing. Petitioner appeals from an order of the Appellate Division, First Department, reversing a judgment of Supreme Court, New York County, which had directed that the petitioner be forthwith examined as to his present mental condition prior to commitment. We find the provisions of CPL 330.20 to be in accord with the mandates of
On January 8, 1970, petitioner fatally stabbed his nine months’ pregnant girl friend. He was found to be unfit to proceed to trial, and was institutionalized until March, 1973, at which time he was deemed fit to proceed and was released on bail. In November, 1975, he was tried without jury, and found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Petitioner then commenced this proceeding, requesting that rather than being automatically committed pursuant to CPL 330.20, he first be examined to determine whether his present mental condition warranted commitment. He apparently remains unhospitalized pending the outcome of this proceeding.
CPL 330.20 (subd 1) provides in pertinent part that "[u]pon rendition of a verdict of acquittal by reason of mental disease or defect, the court must order the defendant to be committed to the custody of the commissioner of mental hygiene to be placed in an appropriate institution in the state department of mental hygiene.” It should be noted that this provision is mandatory rather than discretionary, and does not require or provide for a hearing or examination prior to commitment. The remainder of the statute deals mainly with procedures for conditional release and other discharge provisions. It is further provided that if the commissioner determines that such a person "may be discharged or released on condition without danger to himself or to others”, the commissioner may apply to the court for permission to release or discharge him. In such circumstance, the court cannot deny the application without holding a hearing "to determine whether such person may safely be discharged or released”. Should the commissioner refuse to recommend discharge or release, the statute provides that the committed individual may himself apply to the court for release at any time. Petitioner essentially contends that the statute is fatally defective insofar as it authorizes commitment without any prior hearing, upon a verdict of acquittal by reason of mental disease or defect. We disagree.
New York law has long provided for the automatic institutionalization of persons acquitted because of insanity (see Code Crim Pro of 1881, § 454), and we have consistently sustained the validity of such provisions (see People ex rel. Peabody v Chanler, 196 NY 525, affg 133 App Div 159). Indeed, as recently as 1966 we sustained the constitutionality of the former commitment statute and predecessor to the present
CPL 330.20 deals with an exceptional class of individuals who may properly be treated somewhat differently from those who are not subject to the statute in that they have not been acquitted by reason of insanity(see Matter of Miller [Lee], 46 AD2d 999, 1000; United States v Ecker, 543 F2d 178, 196-197). The statute applies only to those individuals who have admittedly cominitted or have been proven to have committed what would normally be a crime, but who have been relieved of the penal sanctions of criminal liability as a result of their success in convincing a Judge or jury that they were insane. It has been forcefully said, and with much logic, that "[although acquittal represents a lack of criminal culpability, and therefore makes punitive treatment inappropriate, reliance on the insanity defense is tantamount to an admission that the person performed the criminal act in question and has therefore been dangerous to the community” (Note, Commitment of Persons Acquitted by Reason of Insanity: The Example of the District of Columbia, 74 Col L Rev 733). An individual who has committed an act of violence, and has thus demonstrated his dangerousness, and who has successfully asserted an insanity defense, may quite properly be treated somewhat differently from other individuals who, although they may in fact be potentially equally dangerous as a result of mental problems, have not yet so vehemently demonstrated their dangerousness by violent antisocial behavior.
One final point deserves comment. Petitioner argues that if the automatic commitment procedures of CPL 330.20 are valid, there must nonetheless be some provision for a subsequent, automatic hearing within a reasonably prompt time after the commitment. He thus asks that such a hearing should be held within 15 days, by an analogy he would draw between commitment pursuant to CPL 330.20 and emergency commitment pursuant to section 31.39 of the Mental Hygiene Law. This analogy is unpersuasive for several reasons, the most obvious of which is that the 15-day limit in section 31.39 will not lead to a full hearing at its expiration, but rather to continuing commitment pursuant to medical certification with its concomitant right to a subsequent hearing within 60 days
The order appealed from should be affirmed, without costs.
Chief Judge Breitel and Judges Jasen, Jones, Wachtler, Fuchsberg, and Cooke concur.
Order affirmed.