Exam

The

Principles

of

Criminal

Law

Notes

INSANITY AND COGNATIVE ISSUES

SEMESTER ONE | 109

Notes

The

Principles

of

Criminal

Law

Insanity Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Americal Psychiatric Association (5th Edition) o DSM V

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Law's View of insanity Criminal Code 1899: s26

Presumption of sanity Every person is presumed to be of sound mind, and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question, until the contrary is proved.

s27

Insanity (1) A person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission if at the time of doing the act or making the omission the person is in such a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive the person of capacity to understand what the person is doing, or of capacity to control the person's actions, or of capacity to know that the person ought not to do the act or make the omission. (2) A person whose mind, at the time of the person's doing or omitting to do an act, is affected by delusions on some specific matter or matters, but who is not otherwise entitled to the benefit of subsection (1), is criminally responsible for the act or omission to the same extent as if the real state of things had been such as the person was induced by the delusions to believe to exist.

M'Naghten's Case

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M'Naghten had psychiatric issues which resulted in him having issues with the PM, Robert Peele. He attempted to shoot him but actually shot the secretary Acquitted on insanity o Tindle CJ: man should be presumed to be sane until the contrary should be proved otherwise. At the time of the act the accused must be acting in a way that shows an illness of the mind and wasn't aware of what he was doing or that it was wrong
SS? Loss of capacities Presumption of sanity Disease of the mind Deprivation of capacities o to know the nature and quality of the act o to know that the act was wrong

Exam

The

Principles

of

Criminal

Law

Notes

M'Naghten

Criminal Code s26, 27

"Defect of reason from disease of the mind"

"State of mental disease or natural mental infirmity"

Deprivation (implied)

Deprivation (expressed)

Not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing

Capacity to understand what the person is doing

Not to know he was doing what was wrong

Capacity to know that ought not to do the act Capacity to control actions

Porter

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Porter was a trial by a HC judge sitting alone on a murder case o Dixon J: what is the utility of punishing people if they are beyond the law by reason of mental illness?
Wide variety of "normal" Must be a "disease" o Mere excitability of a normal man, passion, stupidity, lack of self control, impulsiveness etc is quite different

What makes something a disease in the eyes of the law?
Psychiatrists diagnosis/medical testing assists

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Falconer

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There was a background of battered spouse - woman killed her husband Accused gave evidence that she had become aware of her husband sexually abusing their daughters and had separated from him What are the characteristics of disease of the mind: o Automatism is "disease" unless

1. Transient, and

2. Caused by trauma (physical or mental) which ordinary mind unlikely to withstand, and

3. 3. Not prone to recur o per Toohey J at 75-76 with whom Deane and Dawson JJ agreed:
SS? "External factor test" artificial.

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