6. Defences Involving State of Mind - Insanity and M'Naghtens Test Flashcards
Outline the M’Naghten’s rules?
Must Know
It is based on the person’s ability to think rationally, so that if a person is insane they were acting under such a defect of reason from a disease of the mind that they did not know:
* the nature and quality of their actions, or
* that what they were doing was wrong.
In the attempt to define disease of the mind, what has been said?
It has been said to be “a term which defies precise definition and which can comprehend mental derangement in the widest sense”
In relation to disease of the mind what did the court find in R v Warren?
The Court in this matter found that a manic episode of bipolar affective disorder with psychotic features was a disease of the mind for the purposes of s 23(2).
Is physical damage an issue in relation to disease of the mind?
A condition may be a disease of the mind whether or not there is any damage to the brain or other physical organ, the law being concerned with the “mind” — the mental faculties of reason, memory, and understanding; and the disorder may be permanent or temporary, of short or long duration, curable or incurable.
What does disease of the mind not include?
“Disease of the mind” does not include a temporary mental disorder caused
by some factor external to the defendant, such as a blow on the head, the
absorption of drugs, alcohol, or an anaesthetic, or hypnotism.
When determining whether a condition is a disease of the mind, is it a medical or legal question?
Disease of the mind is not a medical question but a legal one.
What are the implications of s23(2)(a)?
Under s23(2)(a) the defence is established if mental disease rendered the defendant “incapable of understanding the nature and quality of the act or omission”.
In relation to the nature and quality of the act, what was held in R v Codere?
Must Know Case Law
The nature and quality of the act means the physical character of the act. The phrase does not involve any consideration of the accused’s moral perception nor his knowledge of the moral quality of the act. Thus a person who is so deluded that he cuts a woman’s throat believing that he is cutting a loaf of bread would not know the nature and quality of his act.
The test for insanity relates to a persons knowledge their actions were morally wrong. What does this mean?
If someone cannot understand that their act is morally wrong, then they lack rational understanding.
They may acknowledge the result of society’s reasoning – that their actions are morally wrong – but they are unable to go through the reasoning process themselves.
