Insanity, Automatism & Serious Mental Health Disorders in Criminal Law

Introduction

As practitioners, much of our conversation about mental disorders in criminal law tends to be focused on sentencing outcomes. However, defendants will often go through an entire trial process before they reach that stage. It is just as important to ensure that defendants can be effectively represented and the appropriate defence is put forward on their behalf, as it is to ensure that the outcome is fair.

This virtual classroom webinar will take you through that process. It will look at cases of legal insanity, non-insane automatism and serious mental health disorders. Specifically, it will cover fitness to plead and defences of diminished responsibility, non-insane automatism and insanity. It will also shed light on some unique and interesting cases, including defences of sleepwalking, epileptic seizures and postpartum depression.

This webinar 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 webinar will cover the following:

• Understanding the distinction between insanity and non-insane automatism
• The legal framework and procedure surrounding fitness to plead, including inability to participate effectively in proceedings
• Diminished responsibility: understanding the law, procedure and application of this partial defence
• Non-insane automatism: exploring the legal requirements and application of this complete defence
• Insanity: examining the relevant law, procedure and special verdict
• Examining unusual and significant cases involving sleepwalking, epileptic seizures and postpartum depression