United States v. David Lee Fresonke A/K/A David Lee Johnson

Fresonke appeals from his conviction by a jury on four counts of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a) and (d). Since it was stipulated that appellant was the individual who robbed each of the four banks in question, the entire trial revolved around his state of mind with regard to the acts charged. In light of our decisions in United States v, McGraw, 515 F.2d 758 (9th Cir. 1975) and United States v. Sullivan, 544 F.2d 1052 (9th Cir. 1976), we must conclude that the district court improperly refused to instruct the jury on the controlling definition of “wrongfulness” as it pertains to the insanity defense. We therefore reverse and remand.

BACKGROUND

At the trial the defense called Dr. Ralph Hirschstein, a clinical psychologist whom the court deemed qualified as an expert witness. Based on two examinations of the appellant lasting approximately four hours, interviews with appellant’s mother, grandmother, and fiancee, and reviews of jail and prison records, the reports of a pharmacologist, army records, reports of a psychiatrist who examined the defendant at the request of the government, and the results of psychological tests administered himself, Dr.…