Comer Blocker v. United States

Comer Blocker was indicted, tried and convicted for murder in the first degree. His defense was insanity. Three psychiatrists testified at his trial, two called by the defense and one by the prosecutor. All three were on the staff at St. Elizabeths Hospital, an institution owned by the Federal Government and operated by it for the mentally ill. Blocker had undergone observation there for some sixty days or more. The testimony of the doctors called by him was based upon that observation. The testimony of the-other doctor, for the Government, was based upon a three-hour examination at the…