United States v. Nelson Hernandez, No. 08-2139 (8th Cir. 2009)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Civil Case - section 4246. District court's order committing Hernandez to custody of Attorney General under section 4246, based on mental health professionals assessments is affirmed. Findings in support are not clearly erroneous.
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United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 08-2139 ___________ United States of America, Appellee, v. Nelson O. Hernandez, Appellant. * * * * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the * Western District of Missouri. * * [UNPUBLISHED] * ___________ Submitted: April 28, 2009 Filed: May 4, 2009 ___________ Before RILEY, SMITH, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Nelson Hernandez 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 such that his release would create a substantial risk of bodily injury to another person or serious damage to the 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 Hernandez unanimously believed that his paranoid beliefs, delusion ideation, and history of threatening statements and aggressive and antisocial behavior, would create a risk of dangerousness within the meaning of section 4246 if Hernandez 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 Hernandez s custodians are under an ongoing obligation to prepare annual reports concerning his 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 him 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-
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