United States v. Joseph Thompson, No. 08-2093 (8th Cir. 2009)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal case - criminal law. Order committing defendant to the custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 4246 is affirmed, as the district court did not clearly err in finding commitment was appropriate because state placement was unavailable and because the mental health professionals who examined defendant unanimously believed his condition created a risk of harm to others if were unconditionally released.
Download PDF
United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 08-2093 ___________ United States of America, Appellee, v. Joseph Thompson, Appellant. * * * * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the * Western District of Missouri. * * [UNPUBLISHED] * ___________ Submitted: March 19, 2009 Filed: March 25, 2009 ___________ Before RILEY, SMITH, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Joseph Thompson appeals the district court s1 order committing him to the custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4246, and we affirm. Section 4246 provides for the indefinite hospitalization of a person who has been committed to the custody of the Attorney General under 18 U.S.C. § 4241(d) ¹The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri, adopting the report and recommendations of the Honorable James C. England, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Missouri. (concerning mental incompetence to stand trial) and who is found--after a hearing, by clear and convincing evidence--to be suffering from a mental disease or defect as a result of which his release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to property of another. See 18 U.S.C. § 4246. In this case, the district court found that commitment was appropriate because state placement was unavailable and the mental health professionals who examined Thompson unanimously believed that his limited intelligence, history of substance abuse, and antisocial personality disorder, coupled with self-reported hallucinations sometimes commanding him to hurt others, created a risk of dangerousness within the meaning of section 4246 if Thompson were unconditionally released. We hold that this finding is not clearly erroneous. See United States v. Williams, 299 F.3d 673, 676-77 (8th Cir. 2002) (standard of review). We note that Thompson s custodians are under an ongoing obligation to prepare annual reports concerning Thompson s mental condition and the need for his continued hospitalization, see 18 U.S.C. § 4247(e)(1)(B), and to exert reasonable efforts to place Thompson in a suitable state facility, see 18 U.S.C. § 4246(d). The judgment of the district court is affirmed, and counsel s motion to withdraw is granted. ______________________________ -2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
