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A Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that while competent to stand trial, Dr. Lishan Wang is not competent to represent himself as his own attorney at his murder trial; the legal issues are complex and the stress could have serious consequences. He is accused of killing a former colleague, Dr. Vajinder Toor as Dr. Toor left his Branford condo on April 26, 2010. He is also accused of attempting to kill Dr. Toor’s wife.
“I am convinced that if allowed to represent himself, he would return to a state of (mental) incompetence,” Superior Court Judge Thomas V. O’Keefe, Jr. told those assembled yesterday in his sixth courtroom at the Church Street courthouse. “I am going to deny the motion for self- representation,” he said, adding that he did not disagree with the conclusions offered by hospital and outside psychiatrists that Dr. Wang is competent.
“I have observed this over the past two years. I am aware of the issues in the case and the issues are complex.” He noted that an attorney has to call witnesses, advance legal arguments, and interact with expert witnesses. The judge said he did not question Dr. Wang’s intelligence, but he worried about the stress involved in a trial for someone mentally ill. “I have no doubt about my conclusions,” he said.
As he spoke, Dr. Wang, wearing grey sweat pants and sneakers may have been listening but he kept his eyes closed throughout the morning and afternoon sessions, responding to none of the judge’s rulings as he has done in the past. Before the court session began Dr. Wang, 51, spoke with his attorneys. His case has been on the court docket 102 times since 2010.
Not Competent to Act as His Own Attorney
Yesterday was a significant legal day for the state of Connecticut because the prosecutor Eugene Calistro, Jr., and the chief public defender, Thomas J. Ullmann both agreed that Dr. Wang was not competent to act as his own attorney. Both attorneys along with the judge cited a U.S.
Supreme Court and a Connecticut Supreme Court decision in making the distinction between a person being competent to stand trial and a person being competent to act as his own attorney at trial. Ullmann, who had opposed forced medication, taking his case all the way to the Connecticut Supreme Court, changed his position, apparently agreeing the medication was working. Click here to read about the case.
In the afternoon session, Ullmann, the chief public defender, called Alec Buchanan, Associate Professor of Law and Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, to testify about Dr. Wang’s ability to represent himself at trial.
Dr. Buchanan said he had interviewed Dr. Wang at the Whiting Institute, a unit of the Connecticut Valley Hospital twice, one alone and once with Attorney Ullmann.
“He has shown considerable improvement,” Dr. Buchanan said of Dr. Wang’s changes since taking the anti-psychotic drugs. But he added, “there are sufficient remaining abnormalities” that he would not be able to control when representing himself.
In addition, Dr. Wang remains suspicious, “unwilling to provide me with details on his background and other issues.” Dr. Buchanan noted that Dr. Wang remains suspicious of every defense attorney who has represented him. These were the same reactions diagnosed early on when Public Defender Scott Jones represented him. Jones said then that Dr. Wang would share no information with him. One prong of the competency test is to determine if a defendant in a criminal case can assist his attorneys at trial.
Another aspect of Dr. Wang’s personality, various psychiatrists have said other the past seven years is that his thoughts are often not related to the topic at hand. This was also shown in the hundreds of court motions he filed. “That has improved a good deal,” Dr. Buchanan said given the new medication, “but it is not uncommon to see that deteriorate under stressful or otherwise demanding situations.” He would not have the help provided him at the hospital to get him back on track, Dr. Buchanan said, and it was likely he would find a trial “stressful and demanding.”
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Gene Calistro was next to question Dr. Buchanan.
“Given the diagnosis of Dr. Wang and based upon your review of prior competency evaluations, along with your meetings with Dr. Wang, do you have serious concerns about his ability to represents himself in a complicated murder case such as this,” Calistro asked.
“That is correct,” Dr. Buchanan said.
“And you cannot state with certainty that he would remain competent throughout the trial, even with involuntary medication? He asked. “Yes.” Dr. Buchanan said he had reached the conclusion that he could not state with confidence that he would remain competent to represent himself in the course of a trial.”
Dr. Wang has been diagnosed with “unspecified schizophrenia/psychotic disorder.” along with other mental illnesses.
In a back row in the courtroom, listening to Dr. Buchanan describe how suspicious Dr. Wang is of attorneys who tried to represent him was public defender Jones, who was Wang’s lead attorney back when Wang was first arrested. In February 2011, Jones had pleaded with the then-judge in the case, Roland D. Fasano, not to give Dr. Wang the right to represent himself. But the judge did so and shortly after Dr. Wang decided to fire the full-time public defenders representing him and take over his own defense. Dr. Wang is considered an indigent defendant.
Dr. Vajinder Toor & son.
Jones and public defender Tejas Bhatt told Judge Fasano that Dr. Wang would not discuss the murder case, his past life in China, or his family, among other topics. He was suspicious of their role and would not assist them. A psychiatrist called by Jones told the court back then that Dr. Wang won’t discuss his own case because that way he does not have to believe the Toor murder actually took place. In the years that followed, Dr. Wang said as much in open court in arguing various motions. In December 2011, Judge Fasano gave Dr. Wang the right to represent himself. That status remained until 2015 when Ullmann argued to remove Dr. Wang’s self-representation and Judge O’Keefe agreed.
Although the case has yet to come to trial since the murder in 2010, it did head to the state Supreme court twice, once on who pays Wang’s fees for experts if he represented himself and again on whether forced medication was warranted. The state’s highest court said, yes, it was. And yesterday, as part of his rulings, Judge O’Keefe continued the order requiring forced medication.
Medication Adjusted
In the morning session, the judge heard testimony from Dr. Lori Hauser, a clinical psychiatrist at CVH and the chief of forensic services. She worked with Dr. Mark Cotterell who led the CVH hospital investigation of Dr. Wang back in 2011 that found Dr. Wang competent. Cotterell was instrumental in Judge Fasano’s 2011 ruling to let Dr. Wang represent himself. Cotterell recently retired.
Hauser testified yesterday that she had lowered one of his medications because she and Dr. Wang’s medical team noticed he was experiencing fatigue a good deal of the time. Nor was he as active as he had been, she said.
“We always shoot for the least amount of medication that will achieve the results,” she testified.
She also testified in answer to a question that Dr. Wang has not attended treatment groups. They are available every day. “But he has not attended any recently.”
Dr. Wang’s court-appointed health guardian, Gail Sicilia, was called to give an update since she was last in court in April. She said the last time she
tried to meet with Dr. Wang, “he declined to meet with me.”
She said after the forced medication, he appeared to be calmer. She agreed that the forced medication should be continued. She also wrote a letter to the judge that recommended that Dr. Wang stay at the Whiting Institute if the judge found him competent to stand trial, which the judge did. That is where he will remain until the next phase of the case begins.
Judge O’Keefe set this Friday, June 9 as Dr. Wang’s next court date. This court appearance is expected to begin the pre-trial phase of the seven-year old case. But it turns out that Dr. Wang’s Friday court appearance is scheduled to take place before Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford, which may indicate a plea agreement is underway. Asked after the courtroom session by reporters if he expects a trial, Ullmann said he could not comment. Typically Judge Clifford handles plea agreements but it not clear if a plea agreement has been reached.
The court hearing before Judge O’Keefe ended in early afternoon. Dr. Wang who seemed to be listening to the proceedings, opened his eyes about the time Judge O’Keefe officially ended the court session. He was led off by court marshals, his hands and feet in shackles.
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