Cedar Rapids man’s fight against involuntary meds won’t be reviewed by U.S. Supreme Court

CEDAR RAPIDS — A federal judge lifted a temporary hold on a case against a Cedar Rapids man charged in a 2011 fatal stabbing of a cabdriver after the U.S. Supreme Court last week denied review of an order for the accused to take antipsychotic medication against his will so he will be mentally competent to stand trial.

In August, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Leonard Strand’s January order for the Bureau of Prisons to involuntarily administer medication to Johnathan Dewayne Mitchell, 43, to maintain competency for his trial, which has been on hold off and on since being indicted in 2016. Strand put a stay — temporary hold — on the case pending the review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Strand lifted the stay last week, and Mitchell didn’t object.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sean Berry and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Reinert, in a joint motion with the defense, also asked the court last week to declare this case complex due to legal and factual issues that exist. The evidence in this case is “voluminous, which includes a lengthy transcript from Mitchell’s state murder trial, numerous reports and interviews, and medical and psychiatric evidence related to his mental state.

The joint motion also asks the court to reset the trial to sometime after May 9 and Strand did reset the trial to May 20.

Mitchell initially was charged in state court with first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in the fatal stabbing of cabdriver and mother, Catherine “Cathy” Stickley, 54, on April 29, 2011. Mitchell was acquitted in 2013 by a Story County jury after the case was moved from Linn County because of pretrial publicity.

Mitchell was then indicted in 2016 in federal court with obstructing commerce — a cab company service — by “violently robbing” Stickley, who was driving a Century Cab that night. He pleaded not guilty May 2, 2016.

Court documents filed after a hearing last year to determine if medication should be given involuntarily to Mitchell laid out his struggle with maintaining his competency. Most of the information hadn’t been in public records until that time.

Mitchell has been sent to a medical prison facility at different times over the years to have his competency restored, which he has fought by not staying on the antipsychotic drugs prescribed to treat his diagnosed schizophrenia and anti-social personality disorder.

According to the appeal, Mitchell was found competent to stand trial — meaning he understands the nature and consequences of the charged crime and can assist a lawyer in his defense — when he complied with taking the drugs. But his “continued competence was contingent upon his willingness to take his medications,” according to the appeal.

According to law, all court proceedings must be suspended until a defendant receives treatment and is restored to competency.

The appeals court concluded in August there was evidence that Mitchell’s mental state deteriorates when he doesn’t adhere to a medication regimen, and that he has demonstrated a pattern of failing to voluntarily maintain the regimen when he becomes competent.

If Mitchell is convicted in the federal case, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com