Diminished Capacity in the United States

Insanity and Diminished Capacity

Leading Case Law

Among the main judicial decisions on this topic:

Kansas v. Crane

Information about this important court opinion is available in this American legal Encyclopedia.

References

See Also

• Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Defenses

Resources

See Also

Legal Topics.

Excuse: Theory; Excuse: Insanity; Excuse: Intoxication; Mens Rea; Mentally Disordered Offenders.

Related Case Law

People v. White, 172 Cal. Rptr. 612 (App. 1981).

Further Reading (Books)

American Law Institute. Model Penal Code. Philadelphia: American Law Institute, 1962.

Arenella, Peter. “The Diminished Capacity and Diminished Responsibility Defenses: Two Children of a Doomed Marriage.” Columbia Law Review 77 (1977): 827-865.

Dressler, Joshua. “Reaffirming the Moral Legitimacy of the Doctrine of Diminished Capacity: A Brief Reply to Professor Morse.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 75 (1984): 953-962.

Fingarette, Herbert, and Hasse, Ann Fingarette. Mental Disabilities and Criminal Responsibility. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1979.

Horder, Jeremy. Provocation and Responsibility. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1992.

Mackay, R. D. Mental Condition Defenses in the Criminal Law. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1995.

Morse, Stephen J. “Diminished Capacity: A Moral and Legal Conundrum.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 2 (1979): 271-298.

“Undiminished Confusion in Diminished Capacity.” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 75 (1984): 1-55.

“Diminished Capacity.” In Action and Value in Criminal Law. Edited by Stephen Shute, John Gardner, and Jeremy Horder. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1993. Pages 239-278.

“Excusing and the New Excuse Defenses: A Legal and Conceptual Review.” In Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, Volume 23. Edited by Michael Tonry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. Pages 329-406.

Smith, John C. Smith & Hogan: Criminal Law, 9th ed. London: Butterworths, 1999.

Yeo, Stanley M. H., ed. Partial Excuses to Murder. Sydney, Australia: The Federation Press, 1990.

Walker, Nigel. Crime and Insanity in England: One: The Historical Perspective. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1968.

Further Reading (Articles)

Criminal Law – Sentencing Guidelines – Seventh Circuit Upholds Rejection of Diminished Capacity as Mitigating Factor, Harvard Law Review; February 1, 2012

Protecting Older Investors: The Challenge of Diminished Capacity, Generations; July 1, 2012; Karp, Naomi

High court better defines ‘diminished capacity’ defense, Ruling overturns: murder conviction; of Kanawha man, Charleston Daily Mail; December 11, 2003; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide: Can State Retroactively Abolish Diminished-Capacity Defense?, Lawyers USA; January 21, 2013; Hsieh, Sylvia

Fishhooks on a Typewriter: ‘Diminished Capacity’ Is a Quirky Comedy Drawing on Concerns about Aging, National Catholic Reporter; June 27, 2008; Cunneen, Joseph Doherty, Kevin

Diminished Capacity Departures for Compulsive Gambling: Punishing the Pathological or Pardoning the Common Criminal?, Brigham Young University Law Review; January 1, 2003; Starr, Justin W.

U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Let Michigan Defendant Reargue Diminished Capacity, Lawyers USA; May 20, 2013; Murphy, Pat

Representing a client with diminished capacity: Where the law stands and where it needs to go, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics; July 1, 2003; Gallagher, James D Kearney, Cara M

RULING WIDENS `DIMINISHED CAPACITY’, The Record (Bergen County, NJ); September 4, 1997; JERRY DeMARCO, Staff Writer

Challenging the Presumption of Diminished Capacity to Parent: Does Divorce Really Change Parenting Practices?*, Family Relations; October 1, 2007; Strohschein, Lisa

Diminished Capacity – Analyst Blog, Zacks Investment Research – Analyst Blog; May 15, 2009; Dirk van Dijk, CFA

A double life, a triple murder `Diminished capacity’ blamed, The Boston Globe (Boston, MA); January 20, 1999; Judy Rakowsky, Globe Staff

Project will help lost people get home safely ; Laramie County first-responders are implementing the Project Lifesaver program to help recover people of “diminished capacity” who may have wandered off and gotten lost., Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY); December 17, 2010; Lindsey Kroskob

Clearer guidance for estate planning lawyers: how do we deal with clients suffering from diminished capacity? What duty of confidentiality do we owe prospective clients who meet with but don’t hire us? These are some of the ethics questions faced by estate planning lawyers that are easier to answer thanks to the new rules.(Illinois), Illinois Bar Journal; August 1, 2010; McBride, Katarinna Schmidt, Graham B.

‘Capacity’ fills up with stars.(“Diminished Capacity” )(Brief article), Daily Variety; April 10, 2007; Zeitchik, Steven

IFC pushes ‘Capacity’.(IFC Entertainment)(Diminished Capacity)(Brief article), Daily Variety; February 12, 2008; Miller, Winter

Father claims ‘diminished capacity’ in slayings, Deseret News (Salt Lake City); April 5, 2003; Angie WellingDeseret News staff writer

REP. DINGELL, ISSUES STATEMENT ‘DIMINISHED CAPACITY CAN THE FDA ASSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF THE NATION’S FOOD SUPPLY’, US Fed News Service, Including US State News; November 13, 2007

Killing Defendant Plans Diminished Capacity Case, Yakima Herald-Republic; September 19, 2002; TOM ROEDER YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Killer’s defense disputed `Diminished capacity’ cited in guilty plea, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA); May 27, 1994; Bonnie Harris