what is it called?

Question

the claim of mental instability in court after a crime has been committed and does anyone know a case like that that i can have assess to?thanks

its insanity before crime was committed or that the person was depressed or anything that has to do with mental instability before or during when the crime was committed

its the stability of the person at the time the crime was committed not the competence of the person to stand in court and i really need examples of cases where the accused pled instability at the time of the crime

Answer 1

diminished capacity, I'm sure you can find a case now that you have the term. Good luck

Answer 2

The legal term is non compos mentis. Most states follow the McNaughton Rule based on an old case out of England. Basically, this says that a person has to suffering from a mental defect such that he doesn't know what he is doing or if he does he doesn't know that it's wrong. Some states have modified this and have standards for irresistable impulse or temporary insanity.

You don't give enough details to help with the specific state but you may want to check the site below for some recent court cases involving the insanity defense.

Answer 3

Insanity is the mental state of the defendant at the time of committing the crime. I believe what you are referring to is competence. This involves the mental capacity of the defendant to participate in his/her legal defense, to waive certain rights, to plead guilty, etc.

Case law will vary depending on what the specific issue of competence is. The most common is the competence to stand trial. If that is what you are referring to, here are some cases:

Drope v. Missouri, 420 U.S. 162 (1975); Pate v. Robinson, 383 U.S. 375 (1966).

Porter v. McKaskle, 466 U.S. 984 (1984)).

West Virginia, following Supreme Court cases, has long held that a person who is mentally incapacitated or mentally incompetent cannot be subject to a criminal prosecution. See State v. Harrison, 36 W.Va. 729, 15 S.E. 982 (1982); State v. Hatfield, 186 W.Va. 507, 413 S.E.2d 162 (1991).

On the standard to apply in determining when a trial judge has a constitutional obligation to order a psychiatric examination to determine a defendant's competency to stand trial, see Justice Marshall & Justice Brennan dissenting to a denial of certiorari. Porter v. McKaskle, 466 U.S. 984 (1984).

A defendant is presumed competent to stand trial unless his mental condition prevents him from understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him, or the court determines that he is unable to assist in his defense. See Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960) (test for competency to stand trial is whether the defendant "has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding--and whether he has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him.").

Answer 4

Are you talking about mental stability being the defense? That's an insanity or mental disorder defense. More technically, it's the "M'Naghten Rule."

If you're talking about insanity FOLLOWING the crime, and therefore being unable to stand trial, this is something quite different. I am not aware of a technical name for this, other than "unable to stand trial."