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Home » Law Dictionary » C » CRIMINAL INSANITY

CRIMINAL INSANITY

TheLaw.com Law Dictionary & Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed.

A defense that may be raised to a crime. Essentially, the defendant claims that the suffering of a mental defect or disease prevents the person from understanding and appreciating the wrongfulness of his or her actions or to distinguish right from wrong. For example, those who are deemed criminally insane are unable to be convicted of a crime since the crime involves a conscious intent commit a wrong, which cannot be the case when someone is insane. Also see irresistible impulse and the McNaghten Rule.

Related Legal Terms & Definitions
  • MCNAGHTEN RULE The most frequent test used to determine whether a defendant is criminally insane and not…
  • IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE TEST A criminal test which determines whether a person may be considered criminally insane if the…
  • INSANITY DEFENSE A claim by a defendant of a crime that the defendant was insane and unable…
  • DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY An impaired mental conodition, also known as "diminished capacity" in criminal law. It is a…
  • IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE Used chiefly in criminal law, this term means an impulse to commit an unlawful or…
  • CRIME OF PASSION A crime committed in the heat of the moment; where the situation understandably causes such…
  • IMPULSE As to "irresistible" or "uncontrollable" impulse, see INSANITY .Impunitas continuum affectum trlbuit delinauendi. 4 Coke,…
  • ART AND PART Scotch law. Where one is accessory to a crime committed by another; a person may…

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