USCA1 Opinion

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

___________________________
No. 93-1628
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Appellee,
v.
EDWARD L. GALLO,
Defendant, Appellant.
___________________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Douglas P. Woodlock, U.S. District Judge]
___________________
___________________________
Before
Selya, Circuit Judge,
_____________
Coffin, Senior Circuit Judge,
____________________
and Cyr, Circuit Judge.
_____________
___________________________
Miriam Conrad, Federal Defender Office, for appellant.
_____________

Timothy Q. Feeley, Assistant United States Attorney, with

__________________
whom A. John Pappalardo, United States Attorney, was on brief,
___________________
for appellee.
___________________________
March 31, 1994
___________________________

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

SELYA, Circuit Judge.
_____________
of an order revoking appellant's
serve

a portion

of

This appeal tests the propriety

probation and sentencing him to

a previously

suspended

prison term.

We

affirm.
I.
I.

BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
We

succinctly summarize

the facts necessary

to place

this appeal into proper perspective, recounting disputed facts in

a

manner

consistent

with

the

district

court's

supportable

findings of fact.
On

November 5,

1987,

federal

grand jury

in

the

District of Columbia indicted defendant-appellant Edward L. Gallo

on

a medley of firearms charges.1

found

appellant

incompetent

civilly committed.
schizophrenia,

He was

thought

controllable through
appellant pleaded
unregistered

to

to

be

to a

ordered

but,

count of

paranoid

of 1989,

possessing

an

5861(j).

The

five counts of

the

26 U.S.C.

dismissed the remaining

him

hopefully,

Thereafter, in July
single

indictment; sentenced appellant

special

and

incurable

firearm in violation of

district court then

suspended;

stand trial

diagnosed as suffering from

medication.

guilty

Initially, the district court

to three years

of imprisonment,

placed him on probation for five years; and crafted a

set of

conditions ancillary

to the

probationary term.

____________________

1Police officers, who were investigating a threat to harm

former Secretary of State George Schultz, intercepted Gallo as he
emerged from a Washington motel on November 3, 1987.
The
officers
found a small arsenal in
the trunk of Gallo's
automobile, including a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a semiautomatic shotgun, and various types of ammunition.
2

The first and second conditions possess particular pertinence for

present purposes.

They read in relevant part:

1.
The defendant shall be confined to St.
Elizabeth's Hospital for a period of sixty
days.
2.
Defendant shall continue to submit to
proper psychiatric treatment, inclusive of
medication, upon his release from impatient
[sic] hospitalization and shall consent to
the Probation Office having access to his
medical records. . . .

In fact, appellant stayed at St. Elizabeth's for much longer than

sixty

days following the imposition of sentence.

1990, the hospital discharged him.

In the same time frame, three

other interrelated events occurred:

at

his

mother's home

in

appellant took up residence

Massachusetts;

transferred jurisdiction over

In the fall of

the sentencing

the matter to its

court

sister court in

the District of Massachusetts; and probation supervision began in

that district.
While at
Geller,

St.

Elizabeth's,

a Massachusetts-based

sojourned

to

Geller.2

His

injection

of

Massachusetts,
course

psychiatrist.
he consulted

of treatment

haloperidol

appellant

decanoate

first
After

regularly

centered

around a

(Haldol).

The

met

Dr.

appellant
with

Dr.

monthly

treatment

protocol featured gradual decreases in dosage, aimed at lessening

the

patient's

dependence

steadfastly maintained
that he should

upon

that he

the

drug.

Appellant,

had no psychiatric

not be on medication at all,

who

disorder and

favored the dosage-

____________________
2Throughout the course of treatment Dr.
periodic reports to the probation office.
3

Geller submitted

reduction program.
Over
decreased

period of

Gallo's dosage

milligrams

per month.

noted ominous

prior

two years,

150 milligrams

January of 1993,
For

Dr.

national

Geller

per month

to 25

however, the doctor

example, appellant began

that satellites and lasers were

security; in

attacking

addition, he

began

in a manner reminiscent of how he had behaved immediately

to his

arrest in

1987.

milligrams per month, Dr.

was

than

behavioral changes.

and threatening

acting

from

In

writing of his belief

him

more

no

longer

dosage dropped

to 20

Geller became concerned that appellant

responding

Nonetheless, appellant

When the

appropriately

to

the

medication.

expressed staunch opposition

to resuming

heavier doses of Haldol.

The
1993,

when

dosage-reduction program
Dr. Geller,

increasing the dosage and

due in

part

that

inpatient
effectively

"proper

opposition to

in part to the reported

recurrence of

probation officer
of Dr. Geller's

the probation office of

psychiatric

psychiatric admission"
or

May 21,

to Gallo's

hallucinogenic experiences, advised

opinion

continued until

safely managed

treatment"

because
on

an

demanded

Gallo could

his

"an

not

"be

outpatient basis."3

immediately visited appellant and informed him

recommendation.

Appellant debunked the need for

inpatient

treatment and

refused

to cooperate.

The

probation

____________________

3The straw that broke the dromedary's back may have emerged
on May 20, when Gallo for the first time voiced an inability to
assure Dr. Geller that he would not do something he or others
would regret.
4

officer concluded that "given Mr. Gallo's current mental state, .

. . he presents a

potential risk to himself and/or others."

the following day, the officer requested that the

issue

a warrant

for violation

of the

On

district court

conditions

attendant to

probation.
After
citing,

inter
_____

appellant
medication
court

an

evidentiary

alia,
____

the

risk

to public

the

district

safety,

court,

found

that

needed inpatient care to determine the proper level of

and get

then ruled

his treatment
that

on track.

violated the

On this

probation, sentenced him

immurement, see 18
___

U.S.C.

The

outstanding

undergo hospitalization.

court revoked Gallo's

one-year term of

program back

appellant had

probation order by refusing to

basis, the

hearing,

3565(a)(2)

to a

(1988)

(stipulating that,
may

"revoke

sentence

the

upon finding
sentence of

that was

"a

facility that

treatment and .

probation

available . .

sentencing"), and recommended

in

a probation violation,

can

. at

conditions

that

to

term

the time

any other

of the initial

the appropriate

. . hospitalization."
of supervised

impose

that appellant serve the

provide

follow-on term

and

a court

release,
(including

The court

sentence

psychiatric

also imposed a

attaching seven
a

condition

special

requiring

continued psychiatric care).

Gallo appeals.

Although he parades several assignments

of error before us, they march beneath two broad banners.

appellant

challenges the probation

neither required

involuntary

order, asseverating

hospitalization nor

First,

that it

afforded

him

adequate

notice that, by refusing such care, he would be risking

imprisonment.

Second,

he

challenges

the revocation

decision

itself, including the finding that a violation occurred.4

II.
II.

THE PROBATION ORDER

THE PROBATION ORDER
The Due Process Clause extends to probation

proceedings.

revocation

See Gagnon v. Scarpelli, 411 U.S. 778, 782 (1973).

___ ______
Fair

warning

integral
States
______

of conduct

part of

require

in revocation

situations.

565 (9th

the conditions of

him to acquiesce

in revocation.

result

in such

812 F.2d 561,

argues that

did not provide

that may

due process

v. Simmons,
_______

appellant

_________

is an

See United
___ ______

Cir. 1987).

his probation

Here,

did not

in hospitalization, or, alternatively,

fair warning that failure to

do so might result

We approach these arguments with full realization

that the interpretation of a

probation condition and whether

affords

warning of

a probationer

fair

thereby are essentially matters of law

to de novo review
__ ____

on appeal.

See
___

the conduct

it

proscribed

and, therefore, give rise

In re Howard, 996
____________

F.2d 1320,

1327 (1st Cir. 1993) (explaining that "unadulterated questions of

law"

customarily entail

Rubber Co. v.
___________

Bruch,
_____

plenary review);
489 U.S.

101,

cf. Firestone Tire &

___ _________________

115 (1989)

(establishing

____________________

4Initially, appellant also claimed that the district court,

in sentencing him to a period longer than that suggested in
U.S.S.G.
7B1.4, failed adequately to consider the Sentencing
Commission's policy statement.
Since appellant has now served
the one-year sentence in full, he has withdrawn this claim. But
because he is still serving the supervised release term, the same
circumstance does not render the remainder of his appeal moot.
See, e.g., Carafas v. LaVallee, 391 U.S. 234, 237 (1968) (holding
___ ____ _______
________
that, although a sentence has been served, the presence of
"collateral consequences" can save a case from mootness).
6

standard of de novo judicial review for construction of

__ ____

employee

benefit plans).
A.
A.

Scope of the Conditions.

Scope of the Conditions.
_______________________

The threshold question

falls within the

is whether inpatient

scope of the probation order.

treatment

We believe that

the conditions of probation definitely encompass such treatment.

The

probation

order

states

that

appellant

must

"continue to submit to proper psychiatric treatment, inclusive of

medication, . . . ."

We are confident that this broadly phrased

directive, read naturally and with due regard for context, covers
inpatient

care.

qualifiers

or

treatment,

other

"psychiatric."
that the
proper
this

After all,
words
than

of

the sentencing

limitation

that

the

to

judge attached
the

treatment

be

no

requirement

of

"proper"

and

And in terms of language, we deem it significant

condition directs that appellant "continue to submit to

________
psychiatric treatment. . . ."

verb

immediately

usage

is

preceding

examined

(Emphasis supplied.)

against

condition,

the

which

backdrop
memorializes

of

When

the

that

appellant "shall be confined to St. Elizabeth's Hospital" for his

initial

treatment,5 continuation of that treatment cannot fairly

be read

to exclude further

expansive

reading

incurable nature

is

hospitalization.

especially

And,

compelling in

of appellant's illness and

moreover, an
light

of

the

his previous three-

year stay in a psychiatric hospital.

____________________
5By like token, Condition No. 2 itself states that it
take effect
"upon [Gallo's] release
from impatient
hospitalization. . . ."

is to
[sic]

We think,

too, that the circumstances

probation

order necessitate

agreement

commemorated appellant's

have to report on
chosen by
unless

such an

interpretation.

The plea

understanding that

he would

a regular basis to a

the government" and "follow

excused by

an

order of

surrounding the

the

"mental health physician

the doctor's instructions

Court."

Thus,

agreement made pellucid that appropriate medical

heart of

the

agreed

hospitalization
Moreover,
during

is

mainstay

the probationary

so lengthy

appellant's

disposition

of

appropriate

might

was

plea

care lay at the

appellant's

period was to

span, it

medical needs

of

the

case
medical

last for

and

care.

five years;

certainly foreseeable

evolve in

such

a way

that
as

to

require rehospitalization.
proved necessary in

Put bluntly, inpatient

the past,

was well within

care, having

the universe

of

treatment modalities that might prove "proper" in the future.

Under

the circumstances

serious question that

the words

were intended to include

hospitalization.
that the

of

this case,

"proper psychiatric

and did include

Consequently,

conditions attached

it is

the

treatment"

possibility of

we reject appellant's
to his

beyond

probation did

complaint

not require

submission to inpatient medical care.

B.
B.
Appellant
persuade us

Sufficiency of the Warning.

Sufficiency of the Warning.
__________________________
has

that, even

a fallback
if the

position.

written

He strives

to

conditions extended

to

enforced hospitalization, they did not afford him adequate notice

that

refusal

to

accept

such

treatment

would

constitute

violation

of his

must ask whether

probation.

In

studying this

appellant was chargeable with

probation order's inclusive requirements (and

might

be imposed

for disregarding

proposition, we

knowledge of the

the penalties that

those requirements)

when he

spurned the request to admit himself to the hospital.

When,

as

now,

is not

a court

in itself

order

is

unlawful,

read

to proscribe

conduct

that

the dictates

process

forbid the forfeiture of an actor's liberty by reason of

such conduct unless he is given fair warning.

v. Grant,
_____

816 F.2d

Dane, 570 F.2d 840,

____

440, 442 (9th

deemed

United States
_____________

Cir. 1987); United States v.

______________

843 (9th Cir. 1977), cert. denied,

_____ ______

959 (1978); see also

___ ____
(1977) (discussing

See
___

of due

436 U.S.

Marks v. United States, 430 U.S. 188,

_____
______________
fair warning

in respect

to conduct that

criminal); Bouie v. City of Columbia, 378

_____
_________________

191

is

U.S. 347, 351

(1964) (similar).

Nevertheless, the fair

warning doctrine does

not provide a safe

harbor for probationers who choose

to ignore

the obvious.

Furthermore, though a probationer is entitled to notice

of what behavior will result in a violation, so that he may guide

his
the

actions accordingly, fair warning is not to be confused with

fullest,

or

most

Conditions of probation

pertinacious,

do not have

to be

warning

imaginable.

cast in letters

six

feet high, or to describe every possible permutation, or to spell

out

every last, self-evident detail.

F.2d 41, 46-47 (2d

order

See Green
___ _____

v. Abrams, 984
______

Cir. 1993) (holding that, though

did not specify

the time for

9

payment of a

a probation

fine, it gave

sufficient

notice

that failure

to pay

the

fine would

work a

violation); see also United States v. Ferryman, 897 F.2d 584, 590
___ ____ _____________
________
(1st Cir.)
entitled

(noting in an
only to

analogous context that

"fair notice,"

cert. denied, 498 U.S.

_____ ______

830 (1990).

afford fair warning even if they

pedantry.

not "letter

defendants are

perfect notice"),

Conditions of

probation may

are not precise to the point of

In short, conditions of probation can be written

must be read

and

in a commonsense way.

Adherence to

these principles

demands that

we uphold

the adequacy of the warning furnished

here.

reasons for reaching this conclusion.

First, we cannot fault the

district

court's finding

treatment, inclusive of
meaning, see supra
___ _____
refusal

to

order.6
(D. Vt.

the phrase

doctor's

Cf., e.g., Mace

___ ____ ____

that a

and

a violation

of the

condition of

plain

notice that

instructions

v. Amestoy, 765
_______

main

psychiatric

basis of its

put appellant on

would constitute

1991) (ruling

"proper

medication," on the

Part II(A),

follow

hospitalization

that

We have three

F. Supp.

submit

to

probation

847, 849-50

probation requiring

participation in and completion of a "sexual therapy program" put

defendant on notice that

sexual misconduct).

therapy might necessitate admitting his

The challenged condition,

read in context,

____________________
6Appellant

contends that,

under Simmons, 812 F.2d 561, a

_______
probationer is routinely entitled to receive more specific notice
of proscribed behavior than that delivered by means of formal
conditions of probation.
We disagree. A careful reading of the
passage cited by appellant indicates that our view coincides with
that of the Simmons court.
When the proscribed behavior is not
_______
itself criminal in nature, formal conditions of probation,
plainly written, are generally thought to supply sufficient
actual notice of proscribed activities. See id. at 565.
___ ___
10

itself provided fair warning.

Second,
either that
believed a

there

is nothing

appellant acted under

refusal to

in

record to

suggest

a misapprehension or

that he

accept inpatient admission

with the conditions of his probation.

advance a
the scope,

the

credible claim that

would comport

A probationer who does not

he was unaware,

or misunderstood

of the conditions of his probation is hard pressed to

claim that he

lacked fair warning.

See, e.g.,
___ ____

Laughlin, 933 F.2d 786, 790 (9th Cir. 1991).

________

United States v.
_____________

So it is here.

Finally,

the

inquiry

into

necessarily confined to the four

See
___
406,

Grant, 816 F.2d

_____

fair

warning

is

corners of the probation order.

at 442; United States v. Romero,

______________
______

407 (9th Cir. 1982).

The

not

676 F.2d

meaning of a probation order may

be illuminated by the judge's statements, the probation officer's

instructions,

or other events, any or all of which may assist in

completing the notification

determine whether

process and in

a probationer

aiding the court

has been forewarned

to

about what

conduct could be deemed to transgress the probation order.

Here,

several pieces

of

court's finding

that appellant

received fair

first place,
the

the plea agreement

be read

scope of the conditions very clear.

In the second place,

the

district

warning.

provided a prism

conditions of probation could

made the

data buttress

In the

through which

and that agreement

See supra pp. 7-8.

___ _____

appellant signed his name below the list of

conditions

contemporaneous with the

imposition of

the original

sentence.

In this fashion, he signified his understanding that,

11

upon a finding of a violation, probation might be revoked.

Such

a manifestation of acceptance of the terms, though rebuttable, is

prima facie evidence of a probationer's knowing acceptance of the

_____ _____
conditions

in place at the time probation commenced.

See, e.g.,
___ ____

Green, 984
_____

F.2d at 47; United States v. Barth, 899 F.2d 199, 203

_____________
_____

(2d Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1083 (1991).

_____ ______
It is also significant
and the court repeatedly
running.

The record

that both the probation officer

explained to appellant the risk

reflects that

the probation

officer told

appellant on May 21 that Dr. Geller believed inpatient

was essential to meet the
and exhorted appellant
considered

as a

Supp. at

to comply.

component of

849-50.

exhibited

great

difficult

case, urged

relent

and

intransigence

him

Such a

conversation may

the notification

process.

47; Romero, 676 F.2d at 407;

______
Furthermore,

sensitivity in

told

treatment

goal of "proper psychiatric treatment"

e.g., Green, 984 F.2d at

____ _____
F.

he was

his

appellant on
in

no

the

district

thoughtful
more

did not abate, he

terms

would be found

See,
___

Mace, 765
____
judge,

handling of

than one

uncertain

be

who

occasion to

that,

if

his

in violation of

the probation order.

To
order;

sum

up,

the conditions

contemplated
penalties that
apparent.

inpatient

appellant timely
of

probation

care

might flow

received

contained therein

if medically

indicated;

from violating those

Given the unvarnished terms

the probation

clearly
and

the

conditions were

of the special condition,

appellant's previous

three-year hospital stay, the

tenor of the

12

plea

agreement,

district judge's

the

officer's

guidance,

entreaties, appellant received ample

both the proscription

the possible, if

probation

against refusing

and

notice of

inpatient treatment

not certain, consequence

the

of persisting in

and

his

chosen course of conduct.

III.
III.

THE REVOCATION DECISION

THE REVOCATION DECISION
The

standard

revocation decisions is

of

appellate

not in

doubt.

review
When

pertaining

a district

to

court,

after holding an evidentiary hearing, finds a probation violation

and determines that revocation is a condign response, we will not

prepare a
decision

palimpsest, but
only

States, 287 U.S.

______

for abuse
216, 222

will scrutinize the

of discretion.

district court's

See Burns
___ _____

(1932); United States

_____________

v. United
______

v. Nolan,
_____

932

F.2d 1005, 1006 (1st Cir. 1991); United States v. Morin, 889 F.2d
_____________
_____
328, 331 (1st Cir. 1989).
To reach the point at which

revocation of probation is

appropriate, a

district court

must complete a

two-step pavane.

The first component is historical; it involves the "retrospective

factual question whether the probationer has violated a condition

of probation."
second

Black v.
_____

component

is

Romano, 471 U.S. 606, 611 (1985).

______

judgmental; it

determination by the sentencing

condition

mindful, withal, that

and

"a discretionary

authority whether violation of a

warrants revocation of probation."

review the district court's

procedural

involves

The

Id.
___

We proceed to

determinations as to each component,

"[t]he Due

substantive

Process Clause .

limits

on the

. .

revocation

imposes
of

the

prosecution need

not

13

conditional liberty created by probation."

A.
A.
At a revocation

Id. at 610.
___

The Violation.
The Violation.
_____________
proceeding, the

prove the conduct charged beyond a reasonable doubt; it is enough

if the

proof,

reasonably viewed,

violation occurred.

See
___

satisfies

the court

United States v. Gordon, 961

_____________
______

that

F.2d 426,

429 (3d Cir. 1992); United States v. Czajak, 909 F.2d 20, 22 (1st
_____________
______

Cir. 1990); United States v. Lacey, 661 F.2d 1021, 1022 (5th Cir.
_____________
_____
1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 961 (1982).
_____ ______
The

government met

Despite being fully apprised of

an

this burden

agree to institutionalize himself.

in the sand,

that

he would

record,

submit to

the district

knowingly and
probation is

officer, appellant did not

Even after the judge

appellant remained adamant

not

court's

wilfully

instant case.

Dr. Geller's views and receiving

urgent request from the probation

line

in the

inpatient
explicit

elected to

care.

entirely supportable.

in his insistence
On

this stark

finding that

ignore
It

drew a

a condition

follows that

appellant
of

his

the first

step in the two-step pavane is easily ventured.7

B.
B.

The Disposition.
The Disposition.
_______________

When revocation of probation

is committed to

judicial

____________________
7Appellant

argues

that

there

medical need for

_______
hospitalization, but merely an administrative need, i.e., a
______________
____
desire to husband the costs of supervision. Assuming, without
deciding, that this is a meaningful distinction, we nonetheless
reject the argument. Dr. Geller's testimony at the revocation
hearing, fully credited by the district court, made it clear that
he treated appellant as he would have treated any other similarly
afflicted patient, and that hospitalization was needed as an
integral part of "proper psychiatric treatment."
14

was

no

discretion,

judges should not regard it as a routine response to

every probation violation.

for those instances in

Rather, revocation should be reserved

which the case history, coupled

probationer's behavior, indicates

sensible outcome.

See, e.g.,
___ ____

with the

that it is

a fair, just,

Nolan, 932 F.2d

_____

at 1006;

and

United
______

States v. Fryar, 920 F.2d 252, 257 (5th Cir. 1990), cert. denied,
______
_____
_____ ______
499

U.S. 981

(1991); see also

___ ____

Steven A. Childress

Davis, Federal Standards of Review,

____________________________
1986).

This second step

11.39 at

& Martha S.

11-161 (2d

ed.

of the revocation analysis necessitates

individualized attention to the particular probationer and to the

idiosyncratic circumstances of his situation.
predictive
the

decision, based in part on

probationer's

Lacey,
_____

propensity toward

661 F.2d at

And, it requires a

the court's assessment of

antisocial

1022; United States v.

_____________

conduct.

See
___

Reed, 573 F.2d 1020,

____

1024 (8th Cir. 1978).

Although
making

the trial

court possesses

wide latitude

such determinations, that latitude is not unbounded.

test for abuse of discretion is well settled in this circuit:

In making discretionary judgments, a district
court abuses its discretion when a relevant

in

The

factor deserving of significant weight is

overlooked, or when an improper factor is
accorded significant weight, or when the
court considers the
appropriate mix
of
factors, but commits a palpable error of
judgment
in
calibrating the
decisional
scales.
United States v.
______________
accord,
______

Roberts,
_______

978 F.2d

17,

21 (1st

Cir.

1992);

e.g., Independent Oil & Chem. Workers of Quincy, Inc. v.

____ _______________________________________________

Procter & Gamble Mfg. Co.,

__________________________

864 F.2d 927,

929 (1st Cir.

1988);

15

United States v. Hastings, 847

______________
________
denied,
______
to

488 U.S. 925 (1988).

F.2d 920, 924

Applying

(1st Cir.), cert.

_____

this test, we are unable

discern any smidgen of abuse in the district court's decision

to revoke

probation in

order to

necessary medical treatment.

record we

ensure that appellant

Based on a careful combing

receive

of the

conclude that the court considered all the appropriate

factors and made no detectable mistake in weighing them.

Nor is
that

the district

punished

him for

this conclusion undercut by

court, in
faultless

appellant's lament

revoking probation,
conduct.

impermissibly

This thesis

finds

its

genesis in appellant's view that because his mental health status

is

involuntary

government,

(most

recently

which placed

him on,

from, Haldol), revocation of

for it.

fault in
prevent
States
______
reminds

he

then tried

claims,
to wean

the

him away

See Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S.

___ _______
_______

(explaining that "the probationer's

violating a

by

probation is an improper punishment

This argument is lame.

660, 668 n.9 (1983)

induced,

term of probation

[does not]

a court from revoking probation").

lack of

necessarily

In this vein, United

______

v. Brown, 899 F.2d 189, 193 (2d Cir. 1990), appropriately

_____
us that

incarceration

"though
. .,

a probation

this punishment

violation
is

may result

imposed not

in

for the

violation itself but for the prior criminal offense for which the
probationer was convicted."

We will not belabor the obvious, for it is difficult to

imagine a much clearer case than the case at bar.
outpatient treatment

program progressed, his

As appellant's

mental and

social

16

state deteriorated;

he began

hallucinating about

messages from

inanimate objects

and felt threatened by

he made it plain that

that,

left to his own

satellites.

Moreover,

he did not consider himself mentally

devices, he would

alleviate the manifestations of his

ill;

not take medication to

disorder; and that he

would

not submit voluntarily to inpatient care.

Especially in light of

appellant's

instructions

defiance

of

the

doctor's

and

his

previous involvement in threats of grievous bodily harm against a

public official, his
district
terms

situation called out for

court, after

of

probation,

disposition

finding that
simply

that ensured

remediation.

appellant had

answered

the

call,

appropriate treatment

The

violated the
effecting

for appellant's

affliction and, at the same time, alleviated a cognizable risk to

public safety.
IV.
IV.

CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
We

appellant

need

him to

medically

prospective

no

further.8

In

the

original

case,

gained his liberty subject to a condition of probation

that required
when

go

submit to inpatient

indicated.

Having

psychiatric treatment

been fairly

consequences of intransigence,

warned

of the

he nonetheless chose

____________________

8The question of appellant's competency at the time of

revocation is not before us. Appellant did not make a claim of
incompetency; no party sought a competency hearing, see 18 U.S.C.
___
4241(a) (1988); and the record contains no evidence of cause
sufficient to impel a court, sua sponte, to launch an inquiry
___ ______
into competency. A history of psychiatric treatment, in and of
itself, does not require a court to convene a competency hearing
on its own initiative. See Hernandez-Hernandez v. United States,
___ ___________________
_____________
904 F.2d 758, 760-61 (1st Cir. 1990); see also United States v.
___ ____ _____________

Teague, 956 F.2d 1427, 1431-32 (7th Cir. 1992);

______
Ylst, 930 F.2d 714, 717-18 (9th Cir. 1991).
____

Hernandez v.
_________

17

to

flout the

numerous

condition.

opportunities to

proceeding

by

circumstances

agreeing
of this

finding a violation of
probationary

status,

Thereafter,

he

deliver himself
to

case,

enter

the

the lower

turned his
from the

court

on

revocation

hospital.
did not

In

the

err

in

the probation order, revoking appellant's

and

imposing

one-year

sentence, followed by a term of supervised release.

Affirmed.
Affirmed.
________

back

incarcerative

18