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Supreme Court 8 February 2002

R .v. TERAGUCHI

[2002] NSWSC 48

Homicide
CRIMINAL LAW ACCUSED MENTALLY ILL WHETHER ACCUSED FIT TO BE TRIED.

Citation: R v Teraguchi [2002] NSWSC 48
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales (Common Law Division, Criminal)
Date: 8 February 2002
Judge(s): Barr J

Background

The accused was charged with the murder of her mother at Yagoona on 24 July 2001. The Crown alleged that the accused, then a patient at Rozelle psychiatric hospital, left the facility, travelled by taxi to her parents' home, and fatally stabbed her mother multiple times following an argument in the kitchen.

The accused had a long history of serious mental illness. She had been hospitalised on multiple occasions in Australia since 1994 and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. By 2000 she was a full-time inpatient at Rozelle hospital.

Following the charge, the Solicitor General (acting as delegate of the Attorney General) determined in November 2001 that a formal inquiry should be held to decide whether the accused was fit to stand trial. The accused elected, in December 2001, to have that inquiry conducted by a judge sitting alone rather than by a jury.

  • Whether the accused had the requisite mental capacity to make a valid election for trial by judge alone, given her serious mental illness.
  • Whether the accused met the minimum standards required to be fit to stand trial, as set out in the authorities.

Decision

Before addressing fitness to be tried, the court needed to be satisfied that the accused's election for judge-alone inquiry was informed and voluntary. Evidence from her Legal Aid solicitor, who had interviewed the accused with the assistance of a Japanese interpreter, established that the accused understood the nature of the inquiry and the roles of those involved. Three psychiatrists, while unanimous that she suffered from serious mental illness, also agreed she had the capacity to make the election at the time she did so.

The fitness-to-be-tried inquiry turned on whether the accused could meet the minimum standards derived from R v Pritchard (1836) and elaborated in R v Presser [1958] VR 45. Those standards require, among other things, that the accused understand the charge, follow the proceedings, understand the effect of evidence against her, and be able to give rational instructions to her legal representatives.

Three psychiatrists gave evidence. All three concluded the accused was unfit to be tried. The court accepted their unanimous opinion. The key finding was that the accused suffered from a dangerous variant of chronic paranoid schizophrenia known as Capgras syndrome, characterised by an unshakeable delusional belief that the person she killed was not her mother but an impostor who had undergone surgery to take her mother's place. This delusion, combined with auditory hallucinations she described as "astro-travellers," meant she could not rationally follow proceedings, give proper instructions, evaluate defences available to her, or engage meaningfully with evidence led against her. One psychiatrist noted she would be unable even to understand that a mental illness defence existed.

The court found the accused unfit to be tried and referred the matter to the Mental Health Review Tribunal. The court explained that the Tribunal would assess whether the accused was likely to become fit within twelve months. If not, a special hearing could follow at which she might be acquitted but not convicted, and at which a limiting term could be imposed if she were found to have committed the offence.

Orders Made

  • The accused was found unfit to be tried by reason of mental illness.
  • She was remanded in custody pending determination by the Mental Health Review Tribunal under s 16 of the Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990.

Key Takeaways

  • Where an accused person suffers from mental illness and elects trial by judge alone under the Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990, a court must be independently satisfied the election was informed and that the accused had capacity to make it at the relevant time.
  • The fitness-to-be-tried standard drawn from R v Pritchard and R v Presser requires more than a bare understanding of the charge; it includes the ability to follow proceedings, assess evidence, and give rational instructions to legal representatives.
  • Unanimous psychiatric evidence of unfitness, where uncontested, will ordinarily lead to a finding of unfitness without the need for contested argument.
  • A finding of unfitness does not end the matter entirely: the Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 provides a structured pathway through the Mental Health Review Tribunal, which assesses future fitness and may recommend a special hearing.
  • At a special hearing following a finding of permanent unfitness, an accused may be acquitted but cannot be convicted; a limiting term may be imposed if the accused is found to have committed the offence charged.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 (NSW), including s 16

Cases
- R v Pritchard (1836) 7 Car. & P. 304
- R v Presser [1958] VR 45