The phrase "Twinkie defense" comes from Twinkies, a popular snack food high in sugar.

In jurisprudence, "Twinkie defense" is a derisive^[1] label for a criminal defendant's claims that some unusual biological factor entered into the causes or motives of the alleged crime, and that due to this biological factor, either they should not be held criminally liable for actions which broke the law or the criminal liability should be mitigated to a lesser offense. While biological factors may certainly influence behavior, the label of "Twinkie defense" implies that the specific biological factor is one that most people would view as not being sufficient to account for criminal activity, such as the effects of allergies, minor stimulants such as coffee and nicotine, sugar, and/or vitamins. Image File history File links Hostess_twinkies. ... Image File history File links Hostess_twinkies. ... A Twinkie is a Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling created by Hostess, and baked by Continental Baking Co, which is owned by Kansas City-based Interstate Bakeries Corporation. ... For the jurisprudence of courts, see Case law. ... A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ... For other uses, see Law (disambiguation). ... Allergy is an abnormal reaction to a substance foreign to the body that is acquired, predictable and rapid. ... Stimulants are drugs that temporarily increase alertness and wakefulness. ... For other uses, see Coffee (disambiguation). ... This article is about the chemical compound. ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely traded commodity. ... Retinol (Vitamin A) For the record label, see Vitamin Records A vitamin is an organic compound required in tiny amounts for essential metabolic reactions in a living organism. ...

Origins

The expression derives from the 1979 trial of Dan White, a former San Francisco, California (U.S.) Supervisor who assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978. At the trial, a noted psychiatrist, Martin Blinder, testified that White had been depressed at the time of the crime, pointing to several factors indicating White's depression: he had quit working; he shunned his wife; normally clean-cut, he grew slovenly; normally a fitness fanatic and health food advocate, he had been consuming Twinkies and Coca-Cola. As an incidental note, Blinder mentioned theories that elements of diet could worsen existing mood swings.^[2] Another psychiatrist, George Solomon, testified that White had "exploded" and was "sort of on automatic pilot" at the time of the killings.^[3] The fact that White had killed Moscone and Milk was not challenged, but in part because of the testimony from Blinder and other psychiatrists, the defense successfully argued for a ruling of diminished capacity. White was thus judged incapable of the premeditation required for a murder conviction, and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead. The unexpected verdict was unpopular, leading to the White Night Riots. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... This article is about the San Francisco Supervisor. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... This is an incomplete list of persons who were assassinated; that is, important people who were murdered, usually for ideological or political reasons. ... Mayor Moscone George Richard Moscone (November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was the mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. ... For other uses, see Harvey Milk (disambiguation). ... is the 331st day of the year (332nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Martin Blinder, M.D. is a forensic psychiatrist and the author of Psychiatry in the Everyday Practice of Law. ... Healthful eating is the act of following a balanced nutritional diet. ... Twinkies A Twinkie is a Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling distributed by Continental Baking Co. ... The wave shape (known as the dynamic ribbon device) present on all Coca-Cola cans throughout the world derives from the contour of the original Coca-Cola bottles. ... In jurisprudence, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a defense by excuse via which a defendant argues that that although they broke the law, they should not be held criminally liable for doing so, as their mental functions were diminished or impaired. ... Premeditation, in law, is when you think about and plan out a crime before you commit it. ... The White Night Riots, beginning on May 21, 1979, were the San Francisco, California, gay communitys response to the minimal sentence given to former San Francisco City Supervisor Dan White for killing George Moscone, then Mayor of San Francisco and Harvey Milk, the openly gay supervisor of said city...

In stories covering the trial, satirist Paul Krassner had played up the angle of the Twinkie,^[2] and he would later claim credit for coining the term "Twinkie defense".^[4] Just after the verdict, Herb Caen wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle about the police support for White (a former policeman himself) and their "dislike (understatement) of homosexuals" and mentioned "the Twinkie insanity defense" in passing.^[2] News stories published after the trial, however, frequently reported the defense arguments inaccurately, claiming that the defense had presented junk food as the cause of White's depression and/or diminished capacity, instead of symptomatic of and perhaps exacerbating an existing depression.^[5] Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932) was the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958. ... Herbert Eugene Caen (April 3, 1916 – February 1, 1997) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist working in San Francisco. ... Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ...

As a result of the White case, diminished capacity was abolished in 1982 by Proposition 8 and the California legislature, and replaced by "diminished actuality", referring not to the capacity to have a specific intent but to whether a defendant actually had a required intent to commit the crime with which he was charged.^[6] By this time the "Twinkie defense" had become such a common referent that one participant waved a Twinkie in the air to make his point.^[2] Additionally, California's statutory definitions of premeditation and malice required for murder were eliminated with a return to common law definitions. The California State Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of California. ... Malice is a legal term referring to a partys intention to do injury to another party. ... 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). ...

References in popular culture

In the play The Laramie Project, when Aaron McKinney says that he murdered Matthew Shepard because Shepard made a pass at him, Zackie Salmon likens Aaron McKinney's defense to the Twinkie defense. This article is about the play. ... Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was fatally attacked near Laramie, on the night of October 6 – October 7, 1998 in what was widely reported by international news media as a savage beating because of his homosexuality. ...

During oral Supreme Court arguments in United States v. Gonzalez-Lopez (No. 05-352) in April 2006, Justice Antonin Scalia referenced the Twinkie defense in discussion of a defendant's right to counsel of choice: "[If I am a defendant,] I don't want a competent lawyer. I want a lawyer who's going to get me off. I want a lawyer who will invent the Twinkie defense [...] I would not consider the Twinkie defense an invention of a competent lawyer [...] but I want a lawyer who's going to win for me."^[7] Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the... Holding A trial courts erroneous deprivation of a criminal defendants choice of counsel entitles him to reversal of his conviction. ... Antonin Gregory Scalia (born March 11, 1936[1]) is an American jurist and the second most senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

Notes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Todays San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932) was the founder, editor and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine The Realist, first published in 1958. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• California Penal Code Section 25-29 from Findlaw
• Trial and Error by Paul Tatara for CNN on June 6, 1997. Retrieved March 20, 2006.
• Mauro, Tony. "High Court Debates Defendants' Right to Counsel of Choice", Legal Times, Law.com, 2006-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-02-02. 

is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 109th day of the year (110th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Chewbacca Defense
• The San Ysidro McDonald's massacre, blamed by the gunman's widow in part on monosodium glutamate in McDonald's food

Johnnie Cochran using the Chewbacca Defense against Chef in South Park. ... Not to be confused with the Sydney River McDonalds Murders. ... This article is about monosodium glutamate as a food additive. ...

External links

• Snopes: The Twinkie Defense
• "Myth of the 'Twinkie defense'" - San Francisco Chronicle, 23 November 2003