Page 39 Flashcards
Can homosexual panic be deemed insanity?
A few cases have claimed this successfully, but mostly it isn’t usable
If you believed God was telling you to kill your professors, so you wait outside of class to do it, are you insane?
Yes, if you believe you had the moral authority to do it
What is the deific decree exception to the M’Naghten Rule?
If Defendant was operating under a delusional belief that he was commanded by God to commit a crime, then M’Naghten Rule applies
Why does the deific decree constitute an exception that applies to insanity?
The defendant may know his actions are contrary to society’s morals and are legally wrong, but he believes his deific decree has overridden society’s morals
Does the deific decree exception apply to people who kill because of religious beliefs?
No, only to those that claim they actually heard the voice of God
Why do postpartum, PTSD, and multiple personality disorder count as mental illnesses for insanity?
They keep the defendant from understanding the nature and quality of his act, or knowing that it is wrong
What is another name for the irresistible impulse test for insanity?
M’Naghten Rule plus test, because it just adds one more element to that test
What is a good question to ask to see if the irresistible impulse test applies?
Would the defendant have been able to control his behavior even if a police officer had been at his elbow?
What are the elements of the irresistible impulse test?
If, at the time of the homicide, defendant suffered from a mental disease and:
- didn’t know the nature and quality of the act, or
- didn’t know the act was wrong, or
- even if he knew both, was unable to control his conduct to conform to the defendant’s knowledge
In layman’s terms, what is the irresistible impulse test?
Defendant was unable to resist doing wrong or to control his acts
If you thought God was telling you to do small acts of terror, so you leave your goldfish in the sun to bake, and cry as you watch it, what insanity test would that fall under?
Irresistible impulse test, because you knew what you were doing was wrong, but you couldn’t control your acts
What is the MPC substantial capacity test for insanity?
Defendant, at the time of the homicide, as a result of mental disease, lacked the substantial capacity to:
- appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of the conduct, or
- conform the conduct to what the law requires
In layman’s terms, what is the MPC substantial capacity test?
A mental disease that makes the defendant substantially unable to know a criminal act is wrong and to obey the law
Which insanity test is the easiest to establish insanity under?
MPC substantial capacity test, because the loss of cognitive or volitional ability doesn’t need to be total or absolute
What is the major difference between the MPC substantial capacity test, the M’Naghten Rule, and M’Naghten Plus?
Defendant only has to lack the substantial capacity to do the elements, not have the total inability to do them
