Evening star., 1955-07-27
Insanity Bill
for
Senate Action
Morse Expects Vote
In Day or Two;
Optimistic on Result
By MIRIAM OTTENBERG

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The House-passed bill to give
the public more protection in
criminal cases involving insan-
|ity claims moves to the Senate
calendar today.
Senator Morse. chairman OF
the Senate District judiciary
Subcommittee. said he hoped
for Senate action in the next day
or two and thought the chances
were pretty good"
Senator Morse piloted the
measure through both his SUBJ
committee and the full District
Committee yesterday afternoon
1t was approved unanimously by
both groups.
Such officials as DR.. Winfred
Overholser, superintendent of st.
Elizabeths Hospital; Commis-
|sioner Samuel Spencer, United
States Attorney Leo A. Rover
and Corporation Counsel Vernon
West have all called the Gill
critically needed" and have
urgently requested action at this
session.
Equal Protection
In effect, the bill is designed
Ito reach a balance between the
rights of the accused and the
rights of the public so that both
will be equally protected. The
special subcommittee of the
Congressionally-estab Dis
trict Council on Law Enforce
ment, which drafted the meas
lure after a seven-month inves-
|tigation, found during its study
that the law as it now stands
lis dangerously out of balance
in favor of the accused and
against the public.
The bill provides that a de-
fendant must show some evil
|dence of mental incompetence
to stand trial before a mental
examination is granted; permits
|psychiatrists to testify during
Ia trial where the defense raises
the plea of insanity; makes
commitment to a mental hospi-
tai mandatory after a defendant
is found not guilty by reason of
insanity and sets up a new sys-
tenn for releasing such patients
after they recover their sanity.
Senator Morse, during full
committee discussion of the
measure, said the subcommittee
had reviewed the arguments
raised concerning one section of
the bill, but had concluded that
in the interest of treating all
District defendants alike, the
House version should stand.
Aims at Ph0nies
He told the committee that one
of the problems the bill was de-
signed to meet involved defend
ants who try to avoid punish
ment by feigning insanity. Under
this bill, he explained, the court
would be able to send defendants
claiming mental unf1tness to a
hospital where they would be
under 24-hour observation. At
present, many of the defendants
are examined by psychiatrists in
half-hour visits to the jail.
The section of the bill which
has been pushed as most urgent
concerns a loophole in the law
which now bars psychiatrists
from testifying If they have
treated" the defendant. Such
testimony has been ruled a viola
tion Of the confidential relation
ship between doctors and pa
tients-for lack of anything in
the law specifically permitting it.
Barred From Stand
AS a result, prosecutors have
had psychiatrists in the court
room who could testify that the
defendant had admitted he
feigned insanity, but they have
not been allowed to take the
stand. The section of the law
to correct this situation would
allow psychiatrists to testify as
to mental condition where the
defense raises the insanity issue.
This provision has the back
ing of DR.. Overholser and other
psychiatrists who feel that one
court decision opened the door
to full testimony by psychiatrists
and another court decision-the
one involving the physician
patient privilege" - shut the
door to psychiatric testimony.