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Encyclopedia > Mental disorder defence
Part of the common law series
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In criminal law of commonwealth countries, the defense of mental disorder - sometimes called the defence of mental illness - is a legal defence by excuse, by which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were at the time of their allegedly "criminal" actions. Image File history File links Legal portal image File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... Mens rea is a criminal law concept which focuses on the mental state of the accused and requires proof of a positive state of mind such as intent, recklessness, or willful blindness. ... Actus reus is the action (or inaction, in the case of criminal negligence and similar crimes which are sometimes called acts of omission) which, in combination with the mens rea (guilty mind), produces criminal liability in common law based criminal law jurisdictions such as the United States, United Kingdom. ... Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in the law of criminal procedure to describe the power of a court to hear a case brought by the state accusing a criminal defendant of a violation of the law of the geographic area in which the court is located. ... A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ... In many common law jurisdictions (e. ... Misdemeanors (or misdemeanours) are lesser criminal acts which are generally punished less severely than felonies; but more so than infractions. ... A hybrid offence or dual offence are the special offences in Canadian criminal law where the prosecution may choose whether to proceed with a summary offence or an indictment. ... A lesser included offense, in criminal law, is a crime for which all of the elements necesary to impose liability are also elements found in a more serious crime. ... Criminal negligence, in the realm of criminal common law, is a legal term of art for a state of mind which is careless, inattentive, neglectful, willfully blind, or reckless; it is the mens rea part of a crime which, if occurring simultaneously with the actus reus, gives rise to criminal... Regulatory offences are a class of crime in which the standard for proving culpability has been lowered so as not to require any fault elements. ... In many common law jurisdictions, the crime of battery involves an injury or other contact upon the person of another in a manner likely to cause bodily harm. ... Mayhem, under the common law of crimes, consisted of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a persons ability to defend themselves in combat. ... Larceny is a common law crime involving stealing. ... Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ... False pretenses is a common law crime. ... Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person obtains money, behaviour, or other goods and/or services from another by wrongfully threatening or inflicting harm to his person, reputation, or property. ... Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional or an authority person money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics or other rules in a variety of situations. ... Perjury is lying or making verifiably false statements under oath in a court of law. ... Obstruction of justice, in a common law state, refers to the crime of offering interference of any sort to the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other (usually government) officials. ... Misprision of felony, under the common law of England, was the crime of failing to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities. ... An inchoate offense is a crime. ... Solicitation is a crime; it is an inchoate offense that consists of a person inciting, counseling, advising, urging, or commanding another to commit a crime with the specific intent that the person solicited commit the crime. ... The crime of attempt occurs when a person does an act amounting to more than mere preparation for a criminal offense, with specific intent to commit a crime, if that act tends but fails to effect the commission of the offense intended. ... Conspiracy, in common usage, is the act of working in secret to obtain some goal, usually understood with negative connotations. ... An accessory is a person who assists in or conceals a crime, but does not actually participate in the commission of the crime. ... Self defense and defense of others (sometimes called alter ego defense or defense of a third person) are a pair of legal theories under which otherwise tortious or illegal acts may be justified when committed for the purpose of protecting oneself, or for the purpose of protecting another person. ... Necessity (as a term of jurisprudence) is a possible justification for breaking the law. ... Duress (coercion) (as a term of jurisprudence) is a possible defense, via excuse, by which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law. ... In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ... Automatism is a disassociative state where the individual suffering from it has no control over their actions. ... An intoxication defense, in criminal law, is a defense by excuse, via which a defendant argues that they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law, because they were intoxicated. ... A contract is any promise or set of promises made by one party to another for the breach of which the law provides a remedy. ... In the common law, a tort is a civil wrong for which the law provides a remedy. ... Property law is the law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system. ... In the law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. ... The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation and the event of such persons incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. ... The law of evidence governs the use of testimony (eg. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... // Definition and linguistics The original phrase common wealth or the common weal is a calque translation of the Latin term res publica (public matters), from which the word republic comes, which was itself used as a synonym for the greek politeia as well as for the republican (i. ... In jurisprudence, an excuse is a defense in which a defendant argues that he or she was not liable for his or her actions at the time a law was broken and thus he or she should not be held liable for a crime. ...


This defence used to be called insanity but has since been phased-out in most commonwealth countries due to the stigma that the label of "insanity" inflicts on the accused. In a criminal trial, the insanity defenses are possible defenses by excuse, via which defendants may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly criminal actions. ...

24.14.218.167 09:51, 5 October 2005 (UTC) REPLACE DEFENCE WITH DEFENSE AND COLOUR WITH COLOR FOR EASE-OF-READING. -RTL051005

Contents


Canada

The defence of mental disorder is codified in section 16 of the Canadian Criminal Code which states, in part: The Canadian Criminal Code (formal title An Act respecting the Criminal Law) is the codification of most of the criminal offenses and procedure in Canada. ...

16. (1) No person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong.

To establish a claim of mental disorder the party raising the issue must show on a balance of probabilities first that the person who committed the act was suffering from a "disease of the mind", and second, that at the time of the offence they were either 1) unable to appreciate the "nature and quality" of the act, or 2) did not know it was "wrong". Burden of proof is the obligation to prove allegations which are presented in a legal action. ...


The meaning of the word "wrong" was determined in the Supreme Court case of R. v. Chaulk [1990] 3 S.C.R. which held that "wrong" was restricted to "legally wrong" and not "morally wrong". Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ...


This defence was very little used until 1992, as before that date a finding of insanity meant that the accused could be confined indefinitely to a mental institution. The punishment for being found insane was thus often considerably greater than being found guilty. Allegations of insanity were thus often brought by the crown, rather than the defence. In 1992 this system was changed as courts ruled that permanent institutionalization was wrong. A system of regular review and assessment was introduced and time confined to an institution was capped at the equivalent of the sentence if they had been found guilty. The crown was also forbidden from making accusations of mental disorder. Since these changes the number of mental disorder pleas has greatly increased. Guilty is a Anarcho-punk album, by the band Oi Polloi. ...


References

  • Justice department review of section 16

United Kingdom

In England, the 1975 Butler Committee on Mentally Abnormal Offenders recommended reforms of the defence including changing the verdict to "not guilty by reason of mental disorder". These changes were introduced in the Draft Criminal Code Bill of 1989. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...


Prior to the reforms there was only the common law defence of insanity under the M'Naghten Rules. The MNaghten rules, also known as McNaughten or Macnaughton rules, are a set of guidelines for an insanity defense formulated by the Judges of the House of Lords in 1843, used in England and Wales until the 1960s: Persons acting under the influence of an insane delusion are punishable...


External link

  • discussion on uk defence

  Results from FactBites:
 
Irwin Law : Books (629 words)
The book follows the logical and temporal sequence of the issues a mentally disordered accused is likely to encounter from arrest to sentencing, or in the case of an accused found not criminally responsible, until that point when he or she is absolutely discharged by a provincial or territorial review board.
It provides a succinct overview of the key topics that judges, crown and defence counsel, and mental health providers are likely to encounter in their day-to-day work with mentally disordered offenders.
He is also a part-time staff member of the Law and Mental Health Program at the Clarke Branch of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto; and an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University.
Mental disorder defence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (560 words)
the mental impairment affected the accused so he or she either did not understand the nature and quality of the conduct, or did not know that it was wrong.
The defence of mental disorder is codified in section 16 of the Canadian Criminal Code which states, in part:
This defence was very little used until 1992, as before that date a finding of insanity meant that the accused could be confined indefinitely to a mental institution.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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