Dictionary Search: "Sanity" - Pakistan Law Portal

Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 test

See APPRECIATION TEST.

Sanity

The state or condition of having a relatively sound and healthy mind. Cf. INSANITY.

black-rage insanity defense.

An insanity defense based on an African-American defendant's hatred of white people. ( This defense was first used in the mid-1990s.

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 TEST.

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.

insanity defense

See INSANITY DEFENSE.

insanity plea

See INSANITY DEFENSE.

legal insanity

See INSANITY,

not guilty by reason of insanity

1. A notguilty verdict, based on mental illness, that usu. does not release the defendant but instead results in commitment to a mental institution. 2. A criminal defendant's plea of not guilty that is based on the insanity defense. See INSANITY DEFENSE. - Also termed not guilty on the ground of insanity. - Abbr. NGRI. See INSANITY DEFENSE. 3. Common-law pleading. A defendant's plea denying both an act of trespass alleged in a plaintiff's declaration and the plaintiff's right to possess the property at issue.

sanity hearing

1. An inquiry into the mental competency of a person to stand trial. 2. A proceeding to determine whether a person should be institutionalized.

temporary insanity