Foucha v. Louisiana

Facts

Petitioner Terry Foucha was charged by Louisiana authorities with aggravated burglary and illegal discharge of a firearm. Two medical doctors were appointed to conduct a pretrial examination of Foucha. The doctors initially reported, and the trial court found, that Foucha lacked mental capacity to proceed, but for months later the trial court found Foucha competent to stand trial. The doctors reported that Foucha was unable to distinguish right from wrong and was insane at the time of the offense. On March 21, 1988, a three-member panel reported that there had been no evidence of mental illness since admission and recommended that Foucha be conditionally discharged. The trial judge appointed a two-member sanity commission made up the same two doctors who had conducted the pretrial examination. Their written report stated that Foucha “is presently in remission from mental illness but we cannot certify that he would not constitute a menace to himself or others if released. After it was stipulated that the other doctor, if he were present, would give essentially the same testimony, the court ruled that Foucha was dangerous to himself and other and ordered him returned to the mental institution.