The insanity defense is a complex and controversial issue in the criminal justice system. It allows individuals suffering from a mental illness or defect to argue that they should not be held responsible for their illegal actions. In Arizona, in order to complete the insanity defense, you need to pass an abbreviated version of the M’Naghten test. In this edition, it is required to prove that a defendant did not know that he was doing something bad due to illness. In 2006, the United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Arizona’s insanity defense test in the case of Clark v. Arizona (Bloom, 2021). In the case study, the defendant shot at a police officer, killed him and fled the scene. She states that his diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia influenced his actions. I would not accept the case because I believe several issues prevent me from winning it.
In this case, the defendant may argue that he did not know his conduct was wrong due to their mental defect or disease. This argument must meet the requirements of the abbreviated version of M’Naghten in Arizona, which puts the burden of proof on the defendant (Arizona Revised Statutes). The evidence of schizophrenia will require a psychiatric evaluation and a review of medical records (Clark v. Arizona). It will be challenging to confirm the diagnosis without having previous medical records. Moreover, the lawyer will have to convince the jury that the defendant is not only ill but also affected by the fact that he was unaware of his actions. This will be difficult since the defendant fled the crime scene, believing he had committed some evil deed.
Thus, as a representative of the law, I have made the decision to reject the case. The defendant must prove the presence of paranoid schizophrenia and also that she was affected by his actions in such a way that he did not know what he was doing. Given the high burden of proof necessary to establish insanity in Arizona and the limited scope of the abbreviated M’Naghten test, I have determined that the chances of success, in this case, are limited.
References
Bloom, J. D. (2021). Arizona’s Insanity Defense, Clark, and the 2007 Legislature. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Web.
Clark v. Arizona, 548 U.S. 735 (2006).
Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 13, Chapter 14 (2021). Insanity Defense. Web.