Opinion ID: 1674080
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Motion for Appointment of a Lunacy Commission, Etc.

Text: On the morning scheduled for the trial after the jurors assembled, counsel for Morris Johnson filed a motion to withdraw his plea of not guilty, and in lieu thereof entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. He further moved for the appointment of a lunacy commission and to continue the trial. By the motion it was represented that because of his indigence he had been furnished court appointed counsel, who, in spite of their diligence, could not represent him properly in this insanity plea without the assistance and advice of medical doctors. Accordingly, they asked that the court make available the sum of money necessary to hire experts, or, in lieu thereof, appoint a commission to inquire into the sanity of defendant and make a report of the examination and any tests therein available to mover and to the court. At the trial of this motion, the judge carefully examined and observed Morris Johnson. Evidence offered to support the claim of insanity consisted of the testimony of Morris' father, mother and a neighbor. In his per curiam, the trial judge observed that he found nothing in the evidence offered which would give cause to believe that defendant was insane. Witnesses for Morris Johnson simply testified that he sometimes slept under houses, he was disobedient to his mother, provoked arguments and fights from which he ran, once attempted to molest an old woman, and on one occasion he repaired an old shotgun and shot it on the street in front of a grocery store. Much of this testimony was vague and hearsay in character. The witnesses were surely biased. Interrogation of Morris Johnson by the judge disclosed that Johnson had an eighth grade education, he was well oriented, knew his attorneys, was aware of the charges against him and remembered the ages of his brother and sisters, how long he had been in prison, the name and location of the school he attended and the date of his birth. The trial judge observed that he was well oriented as to time and place, he was able to communicate with his counsel, and his physical appearance and actions reflected not one scintilla of abnormality. The law presumes that a man is sane. State v. Graves, 247 La. 683, 174 So.2d 118 (1965). No absolute right to the appointment of a lunacy commission is assured by the law in every case. It is a matter which addresses itself to the sound discretion of the trial court, whose judgment we will not reverse unless there is a showing of clear abuse of that discretion. La. Code Crim.Proc. arts. 267, 268 (1928). State v. Johnson, 226 La. 30, 74 So.2d 402 (1954). The test in such a case is whether, from the facts, there is reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is mentally defective. State v. Johnson, supra. Under these rules the accused bears the burden of establishing by a clear preponderance of the evidence reasonable grounds for the judge to believe that he was mentally defective. State v. Graves, supra. A review of the record fails to support the claim of the accused or his contention that the trial judge erred. As the record abundantly supports the ruling, the motion to appoint a commission and to provide funds for medical experts was properly denied. The continuance moved for in this connection to allow time for the commission and medical experts to make their inquiry was also properly denied.