Mental Competence of Lyndhurst Murder Defendant Questioned by Prosecutor, Defense
By Mary K. Miraglia
HACKENSACK, N.J. (April 10, 2017) — Contradicting a psychiatrist’s testimony that a Lyndhurst man who stabbed a neighbor to death is competent for trial, Stephen Baldino’s defense lawyer told AttorneyWeekly.com Monday his one goal is to have his client stable enough “to have a conversation where he understands his choices are to be hospitalized for the rest of his life, or plea bargain for a term that holds the possibility, at some point, that he may be released from custody.”
Robert N. Kalisch Jr. of the Hackensack Office of the Public Defender said although Baldino is now “better,” “If he stops taking his medication for even a little bit of time, he will go right off the rails.” Kalisch also said he has visited Baldino at the Ann Klein Forensic Center and “It’s horrible. It’s the snake pit.”
Kalisch asked Presiding Criminal Courts Judge Margaret M. Foti for time to have Baldino independently examined by Dr. Daniel Greenfield, a move that was not opposed by Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Thomas Kearney. Foti gave him until Monday, June 19 at 1:30 p.m. to obtain a report from Greenfield, and said Baldino does not have to appear in court that day.
Kalisch and Kearney, who is handling the case against Baldino, both agreed following the hearing and testimony of Dr. Dariusz Chacinski that there are many problems that would be involved in trying the Lyndhurst man, who according to Kalisch has a history of mental illness going back to the age of about 20. Baldino is 54 now.
One problem is where Baldino would be housed during a trial. According to Kalisch, he requires regular supervision to be sure he stays on medication, which prevents him from being psychotic. Currently whenever he has to appear in court he is transported from Ann Klein in Trenton, where he has been for four years, since the beginning of 2013.
Chacinski testified Monday before Foti. He said he sees Baldino weekly, and that he has been disagnosed schizophrenic. He takes one antipsychotic drug by mouth, and “is compliant,” meaning he cooperates in taking his medication.
In the past, he said, he has found Baldino to be mentally incompetent, but now, “It’s my opinion that the patient is competent.”
He said Baldino understands the roles of courtroom figures including the judge — “He is the boss” — prosecutor, defense attorney and jury. “He can make decisions about the case.”
“He put a lot of faith in his attorney,” Chacinski said. “He wants to cooperate with him, and wants to discuss this with his attorney. And his attorney suggested to him he should cooperate.”
But according to Kalisch, Baldino has a history of non-compliance with medication. He asked Chacinski if the times Baldino has been incompetent coincide with when he has been off medication, and the doctor agreed that they do.
Chacinski said Baldino’s treatment “will be continuing, and will be necessary for his psychiatric status to remain stable.” He agreed with Kalisch that the defendant has a history of noncompliance with medication.
In an interview with Kalisch, who is a senior staff attorney of the Bergen County Office of the Public Defender, he explained that failure to properly monitor Baldino is what led to his crime in the first place.
“The woman he killed was a resident in the Lyndhurst apartment building where all the residents had varying degrees of mental illness. They were being supervised by a social services agency.
“She was harassing him, stealing his phone –he had not been attending his sessions, no one was making sure he took his medication. If he goes off his medication even briefly, he’s psychotic. The demons tell him what to do.
“He’s better, but he lives a lot to be desired,” Kalisch said. “If he’s off medication, even before the jury is picked he’ll be off the rails.”
Kalisch also said there is no public purpose in putting Baldino on trial.
“If he is truly competent, the only alternative for him would be rather than be hospitalized for the rest of his life, a plea deal where eventually he’d be released from prison. He is better off in a hospital setting.”
The victim, 59-year old Lydja Mitchell, was stabbed, investigators say by Baldino, in March 2012 after an argument. Prosecutors says he left the knife at the scene while taking “significant steps” to conceal the crime by soaking his clothes and shoes in bleach. Mitchell’s body was found after a neighbor called police to check on her.
At a similar court hearing in March, 2014 Chacinski said Baldino was not, at that time, competent for trial. He said although then Baldino understood “basic concepts of the criminal justice process — including what it means to be tried by a jury of his peers — he couldn’t grasp other concepts, such as plea bargaining.” However, Chacinski said at that time, Baldino “was improving with treatment and studying to prepare himself for an eventual trial.
“He wants to be competent. He is taking classes to help him gain competence,” the doctor said in 2014.
All persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty by a court of law.
