Insanity and diminished capacity - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

The insanity defense and diminished capacity

  • Theoretical background: An important distinction: "Not guilty by reason of insanity" versus "diminished capacity"
  • Related legal issues:
    • The law of evidence: admissibility of evidence
    • Competence to Stand Trial (from James R. Elkins, West Virginia University)
  • Cases
    • The UNABOM case: the law of evidence and sentencing; admissibility of evidence; the constitutional law of double jeopardy.
    • The Hinckley case: the assassination attempt of President Reagan
    • Colin Ferguson - The Long Island Railroad gunman

Supreme Court cases on the insanity defense and diminished capacity

+ Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375 (1966)
+ Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162 (1972)
+ Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (1975)]
+ McKaskle v. Wiggins, 465 U.S. 168 (1984)]

More Resources

Cases

+ Shannon v. United States (1994)
+ Utah v. Herrera (1999)

  • In the news...

    • John Salvi III case (Washington Post, 1996)
    • DuPont murder (Washington Post, 1997)
    • Supreme Court allows state bans on insanity defense (Washington Post, 1994)
    • More on the insanity defense from crimelibrary.com

  • Laws

    • Federal Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 (IDRA) other topics
+ Criminal procedure
+ Criminal law
+ Mental Health