US v. Livesay, No. 09-5080

US v. Livesay, No. 09-5080, involved defendant's appeal from the district court's order committing him to the custody of the Attorney General while expressly leaving open the possibility of his release, either conditionally or unconditionally, at a later date.  The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the district court was correct when it concluded that it was not statutorily authorized to afford defendant a conditional release, even if it wished to do so.

As the court of appeals wrote:  "At his trial on gun charges, a jury found Coby Livesay not guilty by reason of insanity. The district court responded to the verdict by ordering a psychiatric evaluation of Mr. Livesay and holding a series of hearings, after which the court held that Mr. Livesay could not be unconditionally released without posing a substantial risk to others. In light of this conclusion, the district court committed Mr. Livesay to the custody of the Attorney General while expressly leaving open the possibility of Mr. Livesay's release, either conditionally or unconditionally, at a later date. Mr. Livesay now appeals the district court's ruling to us. But, as we will explain, the district court's ruling represented the only possible course of action available to it under the processes Congress has mandated for the care and disposition of insanity acquittees. So it is that we must affirm."

Related Resources

• Full Text of US v. Livesay, No. 09-5080
• PDF Version of US v. Livesay, No. 09-5080