499, 16 S.Ct. 201-202.) 2d 153 [77 Cal. 1.) 8.92 (4th ed. For the first time in California's history, the defense of insanity was statutorily defined. J.) 341-343; People v. Wolff (1964) 61 Cal. at p. 121; italics in original.) Dist. 77, 386 P.2d 677]), and included in that doctrine concepts of irresistible impulse which the M'Naghten test rejects. If such were the purpose [158 Cal. 3d 344] "irresistible impulse" -- a concept evolved to supply the volitional element lacking in the M'Naghten test -- can be utilized to prove diminished capacity. omitted.) : Md. omitted. 2d 36, 43-48 [338 P.2d 416].) Newsworthy coverage suggests NGRI can be counted on. on Capital Punishment, op.cit. App. That contention is plainly without merit, and was not raised in his petition for hearing. 3; People v. French(1939) 12 Cal. (People v. Henderson (1963) 60 Cal. ), While California appellate decisions have always stated the test in terms of whether the accused could know the wrongfulness of his conduct, the courts have nevertheless from time to time been lax in their statement of the M'Naghten standard. Sess.) 171, 516 P.2d 875].) (Perkins on Criminal Law, supra, at pp. They are strictly legal terms." Finally section 26 specifies that "All persons are capable of committing crimes except those belonging to the following classes" and includes among those classes "Idiots" and "Lunatics and insane persons." Code, 148), and disturbing the peace (Pen. (Rep. Royal Com. (Ibid, see also Diamond, From M'Naghten to Currens, and Beyond, (1962) 50 Cal. 1969) p. (Pen. John K. Van de Kamp, Attorney General, Joel Carey, Nancy Sweet and Garrett Beaumont, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. 3d 1022] (1907) 150 Cal. 3d 565, 574 [111 Cal. Without change it simply adopts wholesale the ALI formula. For example, in People v. M'Donell (1873) 47 Cal. 3d 382 [115 Cal. 875.) Drew broke away from the officers and struck Bonsell in the face. "It wasn't just [that] she was restored to sanity. 475. We follow the spelling in the Clark and Finnelly report of the M'Naghten case. It seems fair to ask, when since 1973 (People v. Kelly, supra) did this become our duty? 1227.) 2d 15, 22-23 [22 Cal. In sum, punishment is a corollary of responsibility, based upon the concept of man as capable, within limits, of making free choices and putting them into effect." The power of the court to reshape judicial doctrine does not authorize us to overturn constitutionally valid statutes. Because the diminished capacity defense thus fails to identify the mentally disturbed defendant, it may result in the defendant's not receiving the care appropriate to his condition. The doctrine of diminished capacity, once hailed as a possible replacement for the defense of insanity (see Diamond, Criminal Responsibility of the Mentally Ill (1961) 14 Stan.L.Rev. The stated purpose of Proposition 8 supports the abrogation of the Drew decision and its volitional prong. The Insanity Defense in California 574-576; People v. Wolff, supra, 61 Cal.2d at pp. fn. But who is insane? Bonsell then asked Drew to step outside. The cases do not distinguish between the two terms. The substantial majority of the states, [22 Cal. The Son of Sam may be the most famous example of a criminal court accepting a plea of insanity which lead to a reduction in the severity of criminal charges. (See People v. Kelly, supra, 10 Cal.3d at pp. 12926. The term has been abandoned in Britain for several years. Nor do the ballot arguments aid our inquiry. 222.) The answer of the judges further declared: "If the accused was conscious that the act was one which he ought not to do, and if that act was at the same time contrary to the law of the land, he is punishable; and the usual course therefore has been to leave the question to the jury, whether the party accused had a sufficient degree of reason to know that he was doing an act that was wrong ." (M'Naghten's Case (1843) 10 Clark & Fin. 150.). 2d 720, 730 [87 Cal. App. "In sum, what the [right from wrong] clause requires is incapacity, due to serious mental disease, to make the relevant valuations of a normal adul--to realize, for instance, that it is wrong to kill a human being or take his property. (See People v. Hoin, supra, 62 Cal. 3d 796 [135 Cal. Drew's further contention that the trial court erred in not stating its reasons for denying him probation is precluded by our decision in People v. Edwards (1976) 18 Cal. Yet in 11 of the 12 instances, the researchers were diagnosed as 'schizophrenic,' while in the twelfth, the diagnosis was 'manic depressive.' 10 Nothing in the history of the enactment of the new statute, however, compels the conclusion that the people intended to reject the M'Naghten standard and yet simultaneously adopt its age-old phraseology. 1979).) 2d 281, 97 S.Ct. Among other things that measure enacted Penal Code section 25. (71 Cal.2d at p. 166, quoting People v. Bassett (1968) 69 Cal. You're all set! omitted. 10 [22 Cal. The definition of mental incapacity appearing in section 4.01 of the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code represents the distillation of nine years of research, exploration, and debate by the leading legal and medical minds of the country. The court further indicated that it would be prepared to find that at the time of the incident defendant was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong by reason of her mental illness. 3d 1023] a broader scope of insanity. In order to be considered sane and therefore responsible for his actions, a defendant had to have the kind of knowledge that is relevant, namely an understanding or appreciation of the wrongfulness of his conduct. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Drew continued to resist violently until he was finally placed in a cell at the police station. Patient B, not having assaulted his friend, is not prosecuted, so that no court hears psychiatric evidence about his capacity to conform: but presumably a psychiatrist would say that he had such a capacity, since he did not strike his friend. This principle had become so very well settled that just five years ago, by a vote of six to one, we [22 Cal. 800-801.) L.Rev. (Pp. The discontinuance of her lithium treatment would cause her condition to deteriorate and lead to an increase in her manic state. 2d 41, 55 [52 Cal.Rptr 228, 416 P.2d 132]; People v. Wolff, supra, 61 Cal. Md. 3. Then, in a follow-up experiment, the staff of a psychiatric hospital were told that one or more fake patients would be sent to them. 2d 113, 84 S. Ct. The response asserted: "[T]o establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong." People v. Drew :: :: Supreme Court of California Decisions In that case it was contended that the Oregon scheme, which adhered to the right and wrong test and also required the accused to prove his insanity beyond a reasonable doubt, was unconstitutional. Rptr. Supreme Court of California. App. Cir. The second witness, Dr. Ethel Chapman, was a staff psychiatrist at Patton State Hospital. Nor can we escape our obligation by relegating the problem to the Legislature in face of the fact that the M'Naghten test is a court-made test that this court itself has adopted and at times reiterated and at other times amended and variously construed. As the trial court noted, Penal Code section 25, subdivision (b), does not expressly state that the insanity defense requires a settled mental disease or defect. 841, 498 P.2d 1089]) mandates the rejection of this contention. (People v. Wolff, supra, 61 Cal.2d at p. I believe that a major change in the law of the type contemplated by the majority should be made by the Legislature. On the point before us, his assessment of the experience with the majority's proposed ALI test is not encouraging. Finally, by establishing a broad test of nonresponsibility, including elements of volition as well as cognition, the test provides the foundation on which we can order and rationalize the convoluted and occasionally inconsistent law of diminished capacity. (See theconc. The 20-year-old man accused of shooting to death two teenagers on a date at a Corona movie theater in July pleaded not guilty, and not guilty by reason of insanity, to two counts of murder on. This, coupled with the "provocation" she would perceive from being followed by a motorcyclist, would impair her ability to perceive her true situation accurately. (1968) 17 A.L.R.3d 146) require the prosecution to prove sanity beyond a reasonable doubt. Although she knew she had no money, she wanted her husband to come to the station and pay for her gas. "We rely on family. We are told that, in the almost 20 years since we declined to accept it in Nash, 15 states have adopted the ALI test, indicating of course that 35 states have not. If evidence of diminished capacity is used to negate criminal intent in a crime which contains no lesser offense, however, the defendant may secure his outright acquittal and release. fn. The advantages may be briefly summarized. Furthermore the Report notes that the ALI test, as with the so-called Durham rule, leaves the interpretation of "mental disease or defect" with "psychiatrists who give evidence to the court." A man named Daniel M'Naghten attempted to assassinate the British Prime Minister who he believed was conspiring against. Experts for the defense and the prosecution agreed that Kahler exhibited major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive, borderline, paranoid, and narcissistic personality tendencies. App. The defense expert testified that, in his opinion, due to Kahler's mental illness . 2319]), and in this court (see People v. Miller (1972) 7 Cal. From the earliest days of the common law, however, the courts have recognized that a few persons lack the mental capacity to conform to the strictures of the law. Furthermore, it should be observed that from the table the majority has selected warmed over food. Our conclusion that the jury could reasonably find Drew sane under the M'Naghten rule, however, is itself a commentary on the inadequacy of that rule. Indeed, the section does not even expressly require that defendant's incapacity arise by reason of mental disease or mental defect. 313-314.) 13, 4801. 482.) The curious origin of the M'Naghten rule has been frequently recounted. As noted, the Legislature is presently contemplating still another formulation. The question was repeatedly phrased in terms of the defendant's ability to understand the wrongfulness of his conduct. Penal Code section 25, subdivision (a) provides in relevant part that "[t]he defense of diminished capacity is hereby abolished.". (M'Naghten's Case (1843) 10 Clark & Fin. In the case of the insanity defense, the reason is the defendant's mental condition when she or he committed the crime." . cit. (Legislative Analyst's Analysis, Ballot Pamp., Proposed Amends. 1310. Rptr. Rptr. 3d 1031] of Proposition 8 then it would be expected that the provision would have been much ballyhooed by its proponents and severely castigated by its opponents. 306, 313 [240 P. 1000]; People v. Keaton (1931) 211 Cal. 800-801 and cases cited therein.) 2d 720, 723 [54 P.2d 764]; People v. Wright (1955) 131 Cal. (See People v. Gilberg, supra, 197 Cal. : Mont. 200, 210 [8 Eng. Such a person has been allowed to remain a danger to himself and to society whenever, under M'Naghten, he is imprisoned without being afforded such treatment as may produce rehabilitation and is later, potentially recidivistic, released." "[I]nsanity does not only, or primarily, affect the cognitive or intellectual faculties, but affects the whole personality of the patient, including both the will and the emotions. It has won widespread acceptance, having been adopted by every federal circuit except for the first circuit fn. Rptr. (See United States v. Smith (6th Cir. Bigham was held at the Stanislaus County Jail and treated at a local hospital. : Wade v. United States, supra, 426 F.2d 64. As we have noted, the language of the initiative adopts and utilizes the language [158 Cal. Penal Code sections 1026 and 1026a provide such confinement and treatment for persons acquitted on grounds of insanity. This is because the restraint of law is dependent upon the ability of the individual to make a choice between right and wrong, and a person who cannot understand right and wrong cannot make such a choice. on Capital Punishment, 1949-1953, p. 815, 557 P.2d 106], among other cases for authority to create today's liberalized code of conduct; it might be hoped that the legislative response will be swift and certain in restoring our state's established system of mental defenses. 3d 660, 681 [134 Cal. As the result of this fire, defendant was charged with arson in a Placer County proceeding. When she was discharged from the hospital in July 1982, her lithium treatment was discontinued. Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity | Psychology Today South Africa 868-870.) 484, 372 P.2d 316], who repeated the above Nash quotation adding in response to an appeal that we adopt the so-called Durham rule that "This court, however, has consistently rejected such contentions, holding that changes, if any, are legislative matters . We are not persuaded by the arguments advanced in the case with which we are here concerned that the issue is now a judicial rather than a legislative one." Assuming, as we may, the validity of the majority's contention that in the 135 years since M'Naghten there have been many psychiatric advances, the Legislature is thoroughly justified in taking a very long and careful, indeed skeptical, look before jettisoning the existing and carefully evolved body of law which now composes the California M'Naghten rule as illustrated by Wolff.
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