No. 20-5917

Eric Malmstrom v. United States

Lower Court: First Circuit
Docketed: 2020-10-06
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP
Tags: civil-procedure competency criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process embassy-communication judicial-discretion mental-competency mental-disease mental-disease-or-defect standing sua-sponte
Latest Conference: 2021-01-22 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (from Petition)

Whether the district court abused its discretion when it failed to sua sponte order a competency evaluation. The facts of Petitioner's crime, standing alone, gave rise to a reasonable cause to believe that Petitioner may presently be suffering from mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent. In the present case, Petitioner made over 300 hundred phone calls to the Swedish Embassy, and to a consular employee, to whom he had no connection, repeating random religious references, talking about an imaginary King Larrson and King Larrson's granddaughter, and threatening the employee and the citizens of Sweden with sexualized violence using a sword. Such acts plainly put the district court on notice that Petitioner might be suffering from a mental disease rendering him mentally incompetent, notwithstanding the fact that defense counsel did not raise the competency issue

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the district court abused its discretion when it failed to sua sponte order a competency evaluation

Docket Entries

2021-01-25
Petition DENIED.
2021-01-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/22/2021.
2020-12-18
Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
2020-11-12
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 18, 2020.
2020-11-10
Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 25, 2020 to December 18, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
2020-10-26
Response Requested. (Due November 25, 2020)
2020-10-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/6/2020.
2020-10-15
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2020-10-01
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due November 5, 2020)

Attorneys

Eric Malmstrom
Jane Elizabeth Lee — Petitioner
United States
Jeffrey B. WallActing Solicitor General, Respondent