A probate court's finding that an individual is mentally incapacitated is not a valid ground for dismissal of criminal charges against that individual. A Missouri appellate court held that the trial court incorrectly applied a state statute in making such a finding.
One day after a probate court ordered that a man be committed to a mental health facility, the man assaulted one of the doctors at the hospital. The probate court subsequently entered orders extending the man's commitment, as well as a finding that he was "totally incapacitated by reason of schizophrenia, paranoid type." As a result, the man was placed in a supervised living situation.
Several months later, the man was indicted for felony assault for his attack on the doctor. After the state's motion for a psychiatric examination was granted, the court moved the case from the criminal docket to the mental examination docket and committed the defendant to the state's Department of Mental Health. The resulting psychiatric report diagnosed the defendant with "schizophrenia, paranoid type, continuous," and found that he "was able to understand the nature of the proceedings against him and to assist in his defense."
The defendant moved for dismissal of the criminal charge, arguing that a state statute [§ 552.020.10(6)] required such a dismissal in light of the probate court's finding that he was incapacitated. The trial court granted the motion and the state appealed.
The court of appeals agreed with the state that the trial judge had misapplied § 552.020.10(6). The statute did call for dismissal of a criminal case when "the accused lacks mental fitness to proceed and there is no substantial probability that the accused will be mentally fit to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future." However, the statute expressly excepts cases when proceedings are filed in probate court for involuntary commitment or detention, as had happened in this case. Thus, the court of appeals held that dismissal should occur only after the trial court, not the probate court, makes a finding of lack of mental fitness under § 552.020.10(6), a finding that had not been made in this case.
