Exam 3: Inside Criminal Law

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In certain circumstances, the law recognizes that society will not punish the actor because he or she does not have the requisite mental condition.
Essentially, the law excuses the person for his or her behavior.
The most important excuse defenses today are insanity, intoxication, andmistake.
Insanity is a defense that asserts a lack of criminal responsibility due to mental instability.

Mental disease or defect is ultimately the cause of insanity.
There is a lack of consensus in which tests utilized by the criminal justice system accurately determines insanity. The common tests are the M’Naghten
rule, the ALI/MPC test, and the irresistible-impulse test
A more common classification used is the guilty but mentally ill statute, which
allows a jury to convict a defendant with mental illness and he or she will usually spend time in a psychiatric hospital and prison.
The insanity defense is rarely used and when used is not very successful.
Intoxication is when the defendant claims that the taking of intoxicants rendered him or her unable to form the requisite intent to commit a criminal act.
Involuntary intoxication is a viable defense because someone is forced to ingest
a substance and is unaware that the substance contains drugs or alcohol. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense but can be used to show that the defendant was negated.
Mistake as a defense can either be a mistake of law or a mistake of fact.
Mistake of law is used when someone can claim that they honestly did not
know that they were breaking the law. However, the law must not have been published or known to the public. Also, if a person relied on an official statement of the law, there is a mistake of law.
Mistake of fact operates as a defense if it negates the mental state necessary
to commit a crime.