United States V. Cox

Defendant-appellant Paul Ray Cox appeals his jury conviction for armed robbery of a federally insured bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d)(1982). Cox contends on appeal that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to file a belated notice of insanity defense, erred in permitting a psychiatrist to testify to the ultimate issue regarding Cox's mental state at the time of the bank robbery, and erroneously denied his request to instruct the jury that it could find Cox not guilty by reason of insanity. Finally, Cox asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. We find that the district court properly denied Cox's motion to file a notice of insanity defense in the midst of trial, that the psychiatric expert did not testify as to whether or not Cox possessed the criminal intent necessary for a conviction in a manner offensive to the Federal Rules of Evidence, that Cox's failure to properly make insanity an issue at trial precluded an instruction or special verdict form permitting the jury to find the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, and that Cox has failed to demonstrate the prejudice requisite for finding ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction against Cox.