Insanity Defense Lecture Flashcards
In Anglo-American law, a crime requires which of the following: 1) a motive, 2) A forbidden act, 3) Malice, 4) A guilty mind.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
Components of the McNaughton test do not include: 1) Mental disease or defect; 2) Lack of understanding of the nature and quality of the act; 3) Lack of knowledge of the wrongfulness of the act; 4) Inability to refrain; 5) A causal Nexus between the disease and the other arms of the test.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
d. Only four is correct.
The most liberal and least liberal tests for criminal responsibility are 1) the McNaughton test, 2) the Wild Beast test, 3) the Model Penal Code test, and 4) the Durham Rule.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
The following factors are important in assessing criminal responsibility: 1) Motive for the crime; 2) Delusions at the time of the act; 3) Hallucinations at the time of the act; 4) Victim account of the crime.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
e. All are correct.
Which of the following do not qualify for an insanity defense: 1) Schizophrenia; 2) Multiple personality disorder; 3) PTSD; 4) Voluntary intoxication.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
d. Only four is correct.
Intoxication: 1) May preclude specific intent; 2) May serve as a basis for an insanity defense if it causes a permanent psychosis; 3) May serve as a basis for an insanity defense if it is involuntary; 4) May serve as a basis for an insanity defense if the defendant is an alcoholic.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
The traditional purposes of punishment do not include 1) Retribution, 2) Rehabilitation, 3) Deterrence, 4) Sadistic satisfaction, or 5) Individual restraint.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
d. Only four is correct.
Common errors in insanity reports include: 1) Conclusory Reports; 2) Equating psychosis with insanity; 3) Failure to address Both arms of the insanity test; 4) Not mentioning future dangerousness.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
The concept of “irresistible impulse” is also known as 1) the inability to refrain, 2) the volitional arm, 3) the Inability to conform conduct to the requirements of the law, and 4) the Policeman at the elbow test.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
b. 1 and 3 are correct.
c. 2 and 4 are correct
d. Only four is correct.
e. All are correct.
a. 1, 2, and 3 are correct.
What is the actus reus?
The “forbidden act” that must be voluntary and conscious
What is the mens rea?
The “guilty intent.”
Specific intent requires purposely or knowingly committing an act. Specific intent must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
What are the components of the M’Nauthtan Rule?
It is a cognitive rule:
1. did not know the nature and quality of the act, or
2. didn’t know the wrongfulness of the act.
It is a combination of the “wild beast test” and “right-wrong test”
Which rule states, “If the defendant did know the nature and quality of his act and that it was wrong, was he unable, because of mental disease or defect, to adhere to the right?”
Irresistible Impulse Rule
What is also known as the “Policeman at the elbow” test?
It added a volitional component, would they act if a policeman were standing next to them?
Its limitation is that when asked several months later, they could have perceived police as evil, or an aborted homicide-suicide.
Which test states, “whether the accused was suffering from a mental disease or defect and whether the criminal act was the result of the mental disease or defect”
or-
“The accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act is the product of mental disease or defect.
The Product test (1869), or Durham Rule (1954)
The problem was that it increased the number of NGRI acquittals
What was the issue and holding in Washington v. United States (USC of Appeals, 1967)?
It prohibited experts from testifying about “ultimate issues.”
They wanted the jury to make this decision, not psychiatrists.
What NGRI standard states, “A person is not responsible for his criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law”?
The Model Penal Code or the ALI standard
It softens the wording; ‘know’ is changed to ‘appreciates’. “Total inability to know wrongfulness” is changed to ‘lacks substantial capacity to know wrongfulness’.
What is the Federal Rule, 1984?
The defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts.
What was the issue and holding in Clark v. Arizona (2006)?
Issues: Was there a constitutional basis for the criteria for insanity, and what is the admissibility of mental illness (can a psychiatrist testify against diminished capacity)?
Holding: Due process was not violated by eliminating “nature and quality” from the NGRI standard and precluding expert testimony on diminished capacity.
Which states abolished NGRI?
Montana, Idaho, Kansas, Utah
These states have a mens rea defense - it’s only if the person lacked the mens rea to carry out the act.
What was the issue and holding in Kahler v. Kansas (2020)?
Issue: Does the right to due process require states to have an insanity defense that includes an inability to distinguish right from wrong?
Holding: The USSC did not want to set a constitutional standard, and said Kansas’s men’s rea approach was constitutional.
If you have a rational motive in addition to the alleged psychotic motive, what should be your concern?
The index of suspicion for malingering should go up.
What was the issue and finding of Jones v. U.S. (1983)?
It affirmed leaving the burden of proof on the insanity acquittee to prove he is no longer mentally ill or dangerous.
What was the issue and finding of Foucha v. Louisiana (1992)?
Insanity acquittals may not be held unless they are both mentally ill and dangerous. So, antisocial personality disorder in remission is not sufficient.
