insanity defense

insanity defense — n. A defense to criminal prosecution based on the claim that the defendant cannot be guilty because he or she lacked the ability to behave correctly and the capacity to understand that his or her act was criminal. The Essential Law Dictionary.… …   Law dictionary

Insanity defense — For similar defences in Canada and Australia, see mental disorder defence …   Wikipedia

defense — I noun confutation, counterargument, espousal, justification, parry, preservation, protection, rebuttal, resistance against attack, support, warding off associated concepts: affirmative defense, alibi defense, anticipating a defense, assist in… …   Law dictionary

Insanity — For other uses, see Insanity (disambiguation). Insane redirects here. For other uses, see Insane (disambiguation). Engraving of the eighth p …   Wikipedia

insanity — /in san i tee/, n., pl. insanities. 1. the condition of being insane; a derangement of the mind. 2. Law. such unsoundness of mind as affects legal responsibility or capacity. 3. Psychiatry. (formerly) psychosis. 4. extreme folly; senselessness;… …   Universalium

Defense of infancy — Criminal defenses …   Wikipedia

Settled insanity — is defined as a permanent or settled condition caused by long term substance abuse and differs from the temporary state of intoxication. In some United States jurisdictions settled insanity can be used as a basis for an insanity defense, even… …   Wikipedia

Affirmative defense — An affirmative defense is a category of defense used in litigation between private parties in common law jurisdictions, or, more familiarly, a type of defense raised in criminal law by the defendant. Affirmative defense can be classified as… …   Wikipedia

The Matrix defense — is the term applied to several legal cases of a defense based on the movie The Matrix where reality is actually a computer generation, and that the real world is quite different from what reality is perceived to be. In using this defense, the… …   Wikipedia

Gay panic defense — is a term used to describe a rare but high profile legal defense against charges of assault or murder. A defendant using the gay panic defense claims that he acted in a state of violent temporary insanity because of a little known psychiatric… …   Wikipedia