Criminal Law
James R. Elkins
College of Law || West Virginia University
Fall, 2006

Insanity Defense -- Web Resources


Introduction

Brief History of the Insanity Defense
PBS Frontline

Insanity Defense FAQs
PBS Frontline

The Insanity Defense in the Aftermath of the John Hinckley Trial
Professor Doug Linder, UKMC School of Law
[Famous American Trials: John Hinckley]

The Insanity Defense: A Closer Look
Washington Post

The Insanity Defense: Bad, or Mad, or Both?
Dr. William H. Reid, Forensic Psychiatric Consultant,
Journal of Psychiatric Practice column

Insanity Defense: Fair or a Cop Out?
Professor Stephen Morse, University of Pennsylvania

The Insanity Defense
Mark Gado, Court TV's Crime Library

Daniel N. Robinson, Wild Beasts and Idle Humours:
The Insanity Defense from Antiquity to the Present
(Book Review)

The Insanity Defense: A Constitutional Right
Forensic-Evidence.com

History of the Test for Legal Insanity

People v. Hans Schmidt
Court of Appeals of New York, 216 N.Y. 324 (1915)
(decision by Justice Cardozo)

Daniel M'Naghten's Case

Commentary on M'Naghten

Durham v. United States
US Court of Appeals, D.C. Cir., 214 F.2d 862 (1954)

Washington v. United States
US Court of Appeals, D.C. Cir., 390 F.2d 444 (1967)

United States v. Brawner
US Court of Appeals, D.C. Cir., 471 F.2d 969 (1972)

The Perspective of Mental Health Professionals

Insanity Defense
Postion Statement, American Psychiatric Association, 1985

The Insanity Defense: On Being Insane In Sane Places
Dr. Ernest C. Miller, Department of Psychiatry,
University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville

Defense Notice to Prosecution

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure

Prosecution Uses a Defense Psychiatrist for Its Witness

Defense Psychiatrist Testifies for Prosecution

Dual Diagnosis: Mental Illness & Alcohol Use

Insanity Defense Thwarted by Defendant's History of Alcohol and Drug Use

Legal Summaries

The Insanity Defense: A Constitutional Right?
Discussing a Nevada caseThe Temporary Insanity Defense in California
Public Law Research Institute, Hastings College of Law

Case Studies

Mother's Murder Conviction Turns Insanity Defense Suspect
Andrea Yates--Killed her five children, June, 2001

The Voices Within: Joseph Ludlam Jr. and the Insanity Plea

John Salvi and the Insanity Defense
PBS Frontline

Richard Sharpe Convicted of 1st degree Murder
CourtTV [Discussion about the conviction] [Report During the Trial]
[Sharpe tells of early trauma, cross-dressing] [Psychiatrist: Deadly mix of factors led to murder] [Doctor says he killed his wife, but didn't want to] [Jury begins deliberating doctor's fate]

Diana Dial, Texas Librarian
CourtTV

Michael "Mucko" McDermott
CourtTV [Workplace shooting suspect accused of killing seven victims in seven minutes]
[Witnesses for the Defense]

Alleged Unabomber Puts Psychiatry on Trial
Psychiatric Times, January, 1998

Defense Strategies: Playing the Race Card

Playing the Race Card: Two Famous Criminal Trials
(Bernard Goetz & O.J. Simpson)

Prescribed Drug-induced Insanity

Black Rage

Insanity Defense: Cases

New Jersey v. Maik
60 N.J. 203, 287 A.2d 715 (1972) (voluntary use of LSD, psychosis, and the
insanity defense)

Smith v. United States
36 F.2d 548 (D.C. Ct.App., 1929) (irresistible impulse)

Significant Supreme Court Cases

Ake v. Oklahoma, 470 U.S. 68 (1985) (due process requires appointment of
psychiatrist where defendant's sanity at the time of the offense is to be significant
factor at trial)

Barefoot v. Estelle, 463 U.S. 880 (1983)

Bibliography

        Insanity Defense: A Select Bibliography