Law Commons^™

Mentally Retarded Citizen And The Law, Thomas Shaffer, Michael Kindred, Lawrence Kane

Thomas L. Shaffer

No abstract provided.

Insane Fear: The Discriminatory Category Of "Mentally Ill And Dangerous", Sherry F. Colb

Sherry Colb

This article considers the constitutional and moral implications of the distinction the law draws between different classes of dangerous people, depending upon their status as mentally ill or mentally well. Those who are mentally well benefit from the right to freedom from incarceration unless and until they commit a crime. By contrast, dangerous people who are mentally ill are subject to potentially indefinite "civil" preemptive confinement. In a relatively recent case, Kansas v. Hendricks, the United States Supreme Court upheld the post-prison civil confinement of Leroy Hendricks, a man who had served prison time after pleading guilty to child molestation. …

The Story Of Clark: The Incredible Shrinking Insanity Defense, Janine Young Kim

Janine Kim

Prisons Of The Mind: Social Value And Economic Inefficiency In The Criminal Justice Response To Mental Illness, Amanda C. Pustilnik

Amanda C Pustilnik

Can constructs of social meaning lead to actual criminal confinement? Can the intangible value ascribed to the maintenance of certain social norms lead to radically inefficient choices about resource allocation? The disproportionate criminal confinement of people with severe mental illnesses relative to non-mentally ill individuals suggests that social meanings related to mental illness can create legal and physical walls around this disfavored group. Responding to the non-violent mentally ill principally through the criminal system imposes at least 6 billion dollars in costs annually on the public, above any offsetting public safety and deterrence benefits, and imposes terrible human costs on …

“A Mad Man Is Punished By His Madness Alone” – A Defence Of Insanity, G.V Mahesh Nath

G.V Mahesh Nath

The article studies some of the glaring differences between the medical and legal understanding of the term Insanity. With this understanding of insanity, the article traces the roots of insanity defense and discusses the much famous Mc Naughten Rule recognized world over as the mother of insanity laws in modern times. Subsequently, the article takes up the comparative study of penal laws across the major countries concerning the defence of insanity. Further the Indian position regarding insanity defence is analyzed in the light of Indian Penal Code along with case studies. Finally the article concludes with an assertion that Indian …

Fitness For Trial In The District Court: The Legal Perspective, Darius Whelan

Darius Whelan

Fear And Loathing In Insanity Law: Explaining The Otherwise Inexplicable Clark V. Arizona, Susan Rozelle

Seattle University

Eric Clark believed he was battling space aliens when he shot and killed Officer Jeffrey Moritz. Charged under a first-degree murder statute that requires knowledge the victim is a police officer, Clark should have been “not guilty” two ways: first, by reason of insanity, and second, because he did not satisfy the mens rea requirement. Instead, he was found guilty, and the United States Supreme Court’s decision upholding this result tortured insanity law jurisprudence. The only plausible explanation for the Court’s decision lies in society’s emotional reaction to mental illness. Fear and loathing have displaced not only care and compassion, …