One of the first things a defense attorney does when starting a representation, is to consider the possible defenses which may be available to the client. In New Jersey, a number of defenses require a written notice to the State that the defendant will be relying on those defenses. Among the defenses requiring notice to the prosecutor, are the defenses of ‘Insanity’ and ‘Lack of Requisite State of Mind’ (also called the ‘Diminished Capacity’ Defense). Because the Court Rule requires that the written notice be served upon the prosecutor before the ‘arraignment’ conference, it is important for the client and their attorney to decide whether these defenses are going to be raised very early in the case.
The defenses of Insanity or Lack of Requisite State of Mind require the attorney to obtain a complete medical history from the client, and possibly to obtain the services of an experienced forensic psychiatrist or psychologist. Since Insanity is an ‘Affirmative’ defense, when it is raised the Court Rules require that the defense provide discovery (the supporting reports) to the State, typically within a several week period of the Notice being filed. The assertion of this defense can result in the State requesting that the defendant submit to a psychiatric examination by the State’s expert. The reason the burden is placed on the defendant to establish Insanity, is that under the law, there is a presumption of sanity, and a defendant who wishes to overcome that presumption bears the burden of proving insanity.
In New Jersey, the statutory definition of insanity states that a person is not criminally responsible for their conduct, if at the time of the conduct, they were suffering from a defect of reason, caused by a disease of the mind, and therefore did not know the nature and quality of the act they were doing; or, if they did know it, that they did not know what they were doing was wrong. This definition is known as the “M'Naghten” rule.
In essence, the M'Naghten rule is based upon the premise that some people are ‘bad’ and some are ‘sick’. Under the M’Naghten rule, a criminal act by a ‘bad’ person is ‘wicked’ and should be punished; and, a criminal act by a ‘sick’ person whose mind did not have the appropriate sense of wrongdoing should not be punished, although society still needs to be protected. If at the time of committing the act, the accused was suffering from a defect of reason, so as not to know the nature and quality of the act they were doing, or if they did know it that they did not know what they were doing was wrong, they are legally insane.
The defense of Insanity asserts that the conduct of the actor is totally excused as a result of his mental disease or defect. When the Insanity defense is raised, there are only three possible verdicts in a case: guilty, not guilty, and not guilty by reason of insanity. The issue of when a person can be released after being found not guilty by reason of insanity depends on when the Court is satisfied that the defendant is not currently a danger to himself or to society.
The defense of Lack of Requisite State of Mind asserts that the defendant did not have the ‘state of mind’ required to commit the offense. Unlike the Insanity defense, the law does not place the burden of proving the diminished capacity upon the defendant. In essence, the State must prove that the defendant did have the requisite state of mind to commit the crime as part of its case.
In New Jersey, the law contains a variety of offenses which require specific kinds of culpability in order for the State to prove its case. These types of conduct include ‘purposely’, ‘knowingly’, ‘recklessly’, and ‘negligently’; and, both the ‘Insanity Defense’ and the ‘Diminished Capacity Defense’ may be asserted against each of these types of culpability. To be successful, in most cases these types of defenses will require the opinion of an expert in the field of psychology or psychiatry to establish that the type of mental deficiency the defendant suffers from, has affected the defendant’s capacity to form the mental state required for the commission of the crime. Whether these types of defenses apply to your case are both a personal and a legal question that needs to be discussed with an experienced criminal defense lawyer like those at Bailey & Orozco. Please call if we may be of assistance.
