Chapter 6

Front 1

failure-of-proof theory (defense)

Back 1

defendant disproves the prosecution’s case by showing he or she couldn’t have formed the state of mind required to prove the mental element of the crime.

Front 2

civil commitment

Back 2

involuntary confinement not based on criminal conviction.

Front 3

defense of duress

Back 3

excuse of being forced to commit a crime.

Front 4

diminished capacity

Back 4

mental capacity less than “normal” but more than “insane”; an attempt to prove that the defendant incapable of the requisite intent of the crime charged is innocent of that crime but may well be guilty of a lesser one.

Front 5

diminished responsibility

Back 5

a defense of excuse in which the defendant argues “What I did was wrong, but under the circumstances I’m less responsible.”

Front 6

M’Naghten rule

Back 6

see right-wrong test.

Front 7

right-wrong test (M’Naghten rule, in insanity defense, for mental disease or mental defect)

Back 7

an insanity defense focus on whether a mental disease or defect impaired the defendants’ reason so that they couldn’t tell the difference between right and wrong.

Front 8

Durham rule (or product test of insanity)

Back 8

an insanity test to determine whether a crime was a product of mental disease or defect.

Front 9

product test (Durham rule)

Back 9

an insanity test to determine whether a crime was a product of mental disease or defect.

Front 10

irresistible impulse test

Back 10

tests whether the will is so impaired that it makes it impossible for the person to control the impulse to do wrong.

Front 11

product-of-mental-illness test

Back 11

a test to determine whether a crime was a product of mental disease or defect.

Front 12

substantial capacity test

Back 12

insanity due to mental disease or defect impairing the substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of conduct or to conform behavior to the law.

Front 13

volitional incapacity (irresistible impulse test)

Back 13

test to determine impairment of the will that makes it impossible to control the impulse to do wrong.

Front 14

entrapment

Back 14

government actions that induce individuals to commit crimes that they otherwise wouldn’t commit.

Front 15

insanity

Back 15

legal term for a person who is excused from criminal liability because a mental disease or defect impairs his mens rea.

Front 16

judicial waiver

Back 16

when a juvenile court judge uses her discretion to transfer a juvenile to adult criminal court.

Front 17

mental disease

Back 17

disease of the mind, not the equivalent of insanity.

Front 18

objective test of entrapment

Back 18

focuses on the actions that government agents take to induce individuals to commit crimes.

Front 19

reason

Back 19

the intellectual element in criminal conduct.

Front 20

reason (in insanity defense)

Back 20

the mental capacity to distinguish right from wrong.

Front 21

subjective test of entrapment

Back 21

focuses on the predisposition of defendants to commit crimes.

Front 22

syndrome

Back 22

novel defenses of excuse based on symptoms of conditions such as being a Vietnam vet suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or having premenstrual symptoms.

Front 23

two-stage (bifurcated) trial

Back 23

one phase of a trial to determine guilt, the other to determine the punishment.

Front 24

will

Back 24

free choice or decision.