With Permission
Dr. Lishan Wang
Dr. Lishan Wang, who is accused of gunning down Yale doctor Vajinder Toor outside his Branford condo last April, understands the murder charges against him and can assist his attorneys in his defense at trial, a state psychiatric expert testified in New Haven Superior Court on Church Street Tuesday.
Three months after Superior Court Judge Roland D. Fasano found Wang incompetent to stand trial, Dr. Mark Cotterell, who oversees all competency cases at Connecticut Valley Hospital’s forensic division in Middletown, testified that Dr. Wang is now capable of fulfilling the two parts of the state’s competency statute.
Judge Fasano will ultimately decide if Dr. Wang is competent to go forward. In September, Judge Fasano ruled that Wang, 44, was incompetent to stand trial. The judge said Dr. Wang had difficulty communicating with his currently assigned New Haven public defenders, Scott Jones and Tejas Bhatt. He sent him to the Middletown facility for a full evaluation.
During cross-examination, Jones chastised Dr. Cotterell for the superficiality of his examination. For example, Dr. Cotterell admitted that despite several interviews, Dr. Wang said nothing about wanting to represent himself at trial, a key decision that accelerated the competency hearing.
“In your six hours of interviews?” asked an incredulous Jones.
“No,” replied Dr. Cotterell.
The state’s attorney phrased the question in different terms: “Did Dr. Wang ever say he didn’t want his attorneys?”
“No,” said the witness.
In August, Dr. Wang told a stunned courtroom that he wanted to fire his public defenders and represent himself.
Jones sought to show that Dr. Cotterell failed to explore several key lines of questioning that if pursued might well have resulted in a different outcome.
A major issue left unresolved was the psychiatrist’s exploration of Dr. Wang’s decision to represent himself. Jones said at a November hearing that the psychiatric evaluation failed to focus on Dr. Wang’s “inability to help in his defense.” At that time Jones said he would seek an independent evaluation.
Dr. Wang, looking slim, wearing leg irons, a dark green sweater and sporting a goatee, made no response to Dr. Cottrell’s statements. At the outset he informed his attorneys that he had no need of a Mandarin interpreter, that he understood English and that he would only ask for language help if necessary. Then he disengaged, closing his eyes for most of the court proceeding.
Dr. Wang has stated in a police report that he stalked Dr. Toor, 34, was at the scene of the crime, and spoke to Dr. Toor moments before he opened fire. He is also charged with attempting to kill Dr. Toor’s wife. Police said Dr. Wang set out to seek revenge against Dr. Toor and two other physicians whom he blamed for ending his medical career at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in Brooklyn.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Gene R. Calistro, Jr., has the burden to prove that Dr. Wang is competent to stand trial. He called Dr. Cotterell to the stand. The psychiatrist testified that Dr. Wang understood and could communicate in English, that his “thinking appeared logical and that he was goal oriented.” He said there was no evidence of bizarre thinking or hallucinations. He testified that Dr. Wang understood the charges against him and asked if he could face the death.
No medication was prescribed for Dr. Wang who was diagnosed as having an unspecified depressive disorder, Dr. Cotterell said. Nor was Dr. Wang asked to take any psychological tests. Dr. Cotterell explained that Dr. Wang grew up in China, that standardized tests are in English and that at this juncture they were not necessary “unless we thought there was a problem with his mental state. He didn’t appear to need them so we didn’t do them.”
Dr. Cottrell went on to say that Dr. Wang knew he had more than one defense attorney, that he knew he had to speak with them and that he had a desire “to have them assist him in court.” He went on to say that Dr. Wang could “participate meaningfully in his defense.”
At one point Calistro elicited from Dr. Cotterell that a suggestion had been made that the doctor meet with an observe Dr. Wang’s interactions with his attorneys. “We are open to doing that on a case-by-case basis,” Dr. Cotterell said. “We offered to do it. But they chose not to have me do it.” After his testimony was complete, Calistro rested his case.
During the two-hour hearing yesterday in courtroom 4A, Jones attacked Dr. Cotterell’s conclusions saying he ignored conclusions from other hospital staff who described Dr. Wang as guarded and circumspect. At one point, Dr. Cotterell conceded that he might have known that Dr. Wang was guarded and circumspect, but knowing it did not mean it was relevant to his conclusions.
Based on his interviews with Dr. Wang, Dr. Cotterell testified he did not have the impression that Dr. Wang wanted to withhold information from his attorneys.
“He expressed an opinion that he had information and he wanted it brought forward,” Dr. Cotterell said. “Did you ask him if he had shared that information with his attorney?” Jones demanded.
“I don’t recall I ever asked him that question in those terms,” Dr. Cotterell said. Asked if he discussed Dr. Wang’s personal history, Dr. Cotterell said “I will have to check. I don’t find anything in my report on that.” This topic, Dr. Wang’s refusal to help his attorneys regarding his past, his parents, his life in China before he came to the United States to study medicine, has been raised before in court.
Jones also disclosed that Dr. Wang has refused to have family contact and will not discuss his three children. His family resides in Georgia. No member of his family has ever attended a court session.
Dr. Cotterell said there had been some limited discussion of the attorney-client privilege and that he believed that Dr. Wang could present information to his attorneys knowing it would not be used against him. But Jones stated simply that after eight months “the defense team is having trouble communicating with him.”
Another psychiatrist who previously interviewed Dr. Wang reported at the September hearing that Dr. Wang did not trust the legal system and did not want to provide his public defenders with any information. The psychiatrist, Dr. Keith Shebairo testified that Dr. Wang had a “master plan” but would not tell him about it. Nor has he told his attorneys.
Just before he ended his testimony, Judge Fasano spoke directly to Dr. Cotterell. The doctor turned to face him. “You are aware that the court held him to be not competent,” the judge said. “What, if anything, changed?” the judge asked.
Dr. Cotterell replied that Dr. Wang had received “specific education” about the legal system at the hospital. “He was not sure initially how the courts worked,” he said, considering he was raised in China, a country with an autocratic legal system. The psychiatrist said that he and his staff “were respectful of him and he became more confident.”
Dr. Cotterell described himself as an agent of the court, not as an examiner who testified for either the defense or the prosecution. He submitted a six-page report dated Nov. 17 to the court and to both sets of attorneys. Calistro interviewed him about the report, he said.
Jones told the court that the defense plans its own evaluation of Dr. Wang. Calistro announced that witness will be Dr. Peter T. Morgan of the Yale School of Medicine, who may well have known Dr. Toor. He is expected to testify on Jan, 19 when the competency hearing resumes.
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