A Guide to Insanity, Automatism & Serious Mental Health Disorders in Criminal Law

Introduction

It has long been recognised that people convicted of criminal offences are far more likely to suffer from mental health disorders than the rest of the population. As far back as 1998, a national study of the prison population found that rates of severe mental illness in prisons were around 10 times the rate in the general population. Yet, as practitioners, much of our conversation about mental disorders in criminal law tends to be focused on sentencing outcomes and reasonable adjustments. What about those cases where the defendant is unable to participate in proceedings, or may even have a legal defence because of their mental health condition?

This virtual classroom seminar will shed light on an often neglected but extremely fascinating part of the criminal law: insanity, non-insane automatism and serious mental health disorders. It will cover the law and practice in relation to fitness to plead, diminished responsibility, non-insane automatism and insanity. It will also consider some special categories of cases that have not always fit easily into one mould: sleepwalking, epileptic seizures, post-partum depression and diabetic reactions.

This live session will be useful for you whether you prosecute, defend or simply have an interest in how the law treats the complex interaction between serious disorders of the mind and criminal actions.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• What exactly are insanity and non-insane automatism?
• The ways in which insanity, automatism and serious mental health disorders have been treated in criminal law over the years
• The law and process of fitness to plead: an inability to participate effectively
• The law and process of diminished responsibility: a partial defence
• The law and process of non-insane automatism: a full defence
• The law and process of insanity: the special verdict
• Special cases: sleepwalking, epilepsy, post-partum depression and diabetes

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.