Opinion
April 7, 1988
Appeal from the County Court of Ulster County (Vogt, J.).
When this matter was previously before this court, we withheld decision and remitted the action for a reconstruction hearing before a different Judge to determine whether defendant had possessed the mental capacity to stand trial ( 127 A.D.2d 443). Such hearing was held and County Court found that defendant had been competent to stand trial. We now affirm.
At the reconstruction hearing, testimony was received from a number of individuals who had witnessed defendant's behavior during the trial including the Trial Judge, Court Clerk, prosecutor and defense attorney. Also, testimony was received from individuals who witnessed defendant's behavior after the trial. Most of the witnesses testified that defendant was lucid, displayed an understanding of the proceedings against him and demonstrated no bizarre behavior. The only contrary evidence was defendant's refusal to communicate or cooperate with his defense attorney and with a court-appointed psychiatrist. Since the trial, defendant has been treated for instances of schizophrenic behavior. Upon reviewing all of the evidence, we agree with County Court that defendant did not lack the capacity to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his own defense. We also commend County Court, the District Attorney and the defense attorney for the prompt and thorough manner in which the reconstruction hearing was handled.
Judgment affirmed. Mahoney, P.J., Weiss, Mikoll, Levine and Harvey, JJ., concur.