Connecting Mental Illness to Criminal Conduct in the Insanity Defense

[摘要] expert testimonyinsanitypsychosisirresistible impulsemalingeringCourt May Reject Uncontested Expert Testimony on Insanity If the Defendant Has Not Established a Connection Between Mental Illness and Criminal ConductIn State v. Weathers, 260 A.3d 440 (Conn. 2021), the Supreme Court of Connecticut affirmed the Appellate Court’s finding that the trial court had not erred in its rejection of a defendant’s insanity plea. The state supreme court held that the trial court’s rejection of the opinions of two defense experts was not arbitrary, even in the absence of state experts arguing against insanity, as there was evidence other than the experts’ opinions suggesting that the defendant was feigning or exaggerating psychiatric symptoms. Furthermore, the state supreme court affirmed the lower courts’ findings that the defendant did not adequately prove a connection between his reported mental illness and his criminal conduct as related to the insanity defense.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] expert testimony;insanity;psychosis;irresistible impulse;malingering