INSANITY

insanity,n. Any mental disorder severe enough that it prevents a person from having legal capacity and excuses the person from criminal or civil responsibility. • Insanity is a legal, not a medical, standard. — Also termed legal insanity; lunacy. Cf. diminished capacity under CAPACITY; SANITY. [Cases: Criminal Law 47; Homicide 817; Mental Health 3. C.J.S.

Criminal Law §§ 99–108; Insane Persons§§ 2, 6.]

“The lawyers refer to ‘insanity.’ This is a legal term only, and one that is not used by the psychiatrist; the latter prefers to speak of mental disorder, mental illness, or of psychosis or neurosis.” Winfred Overholser, Psychiatry and the Law, 38 Mental Hygiene 243, 244 (1954).

“The word ‘insanity’ is commonly used in discussions of this problem although some other term would seem to be preferable such as ‘mental disease or defect,’ — which may be shortened to ‘mental disorder’ in general discussions if this is clearly understood to include disease of the mind, congenital lack, and damage resulting from traumatic injury, but to exclude excitement or stupefaction resulting from liquor or drugs. Apart from its uses in the law ‘insanity’ is usually employed to indicate mental disorder resulting from deterioration or damage as distinguished from congenital deficiency. Criminal incapacity may result as readily from one as from the other, but while the earlier authorities spoke of the ‘idiot’ and the ‘madman,’ … the more recent tendency in the law has been to include both under the ‘insanity’ label.” Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 952 (3d ed. 1982).

“Another objection to the word ‘insanity’ is the unwarranted assumption that it refers to a

very definite mental condition, seldom put into words but apparent in many discussions of the problem.” Id.

emotional insanity.Insanity produced by a violent excitement of the emotions or passions, although reasoning faculties may remain unimpaired; a passion that for a period creates complete derangement of intellect. • Emotional insanity is sometimes described as an irresistible impulse to do an act. See IRRESISTIBLE-IMPULSE TESTT. [Cases: Criminal Law 51. C.J.S. Criminal

Law §§ 99–108.] temporary insanity.Insanity that exists only at the time of a criminal act.

[Blacks Law 8th]