Can You Plead Insanity If You Didn’t Take Your Medication?

Georgia law recognizes two possible insanity defenses for persons accused of a crime. The first defense applies where the accused “did not have the mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong.” The second is for cases where, at the time of the alleged act, the accused suffered from some “mental disease, injury, or congenital deficiency” and acted due to a “delusional compulsion” that “overmastered his will to resist committing the crime.”

Court of Appeals: Defendant’s Medication Compliance Irrelevant to Vehicular Homicide Charge

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed whether a defendant may use either of these insanity defenses if they are under treatment for a known mental disorder and failed to take prescribed medication for said condition just prior to committing a criminal act. The case before the Court, Wierson v. State, involved a defendant accused of first degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, and battery.

The first two charges arose from a traffic accident that killed a child. In September 2018, the defendant was driving her car and speeding when she caused the accident. The defendant was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed medication, which she did not take on the day of the accident. She was allegedly speeding because she was acting under the “belief that her daughter was in danger” and that she had to get to the daughter’s school right away. Later, the defendant allegedly scratched an officer who attended the scene of the accident, prompting the battery charge.

The defense notified the state of their intention to raise an insanity defense at trial. The district attorney asked the trial court to let the jury consider evidence of the defendant’s “noncompliance” with her prescribed medications as proof of her criminal culpability. Additionally, the state moved to exclude the insanity defense altogether on the vehicular homicide and reckless driving charges, as those are considered “strict liability” offenses in Georgia.

The trial court granted the state’s motion on the medication evidence but denied the motion to exclude the insanity defense. Both sides filed an immediate appeal. The Court of Appeals sided with the defendant on both issues. With respect to evidence of her medication noncompliance, the appellate court agreed it was not relevant to proving an insanity defense. Indeed, it also was not relevant to proving a strict liability offense, as by definition you do not have to show the defendant acted with criminal intent.

On that point, the Court of Appeals said that nothing in Georgia law prevented a defendant from asserting either statutory insanity defense in the case of a “strict liability traffic offense,” such as the ones charged in this case.

Contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers Today

If you have been charged with any offenses following a traffic accident, it is important that you receive legal advice from a qualified Atlanta criminal defense attorney who can review the state’s evidence against you and apprise you of your options. Call Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers today to schedule a free consultation. We serve clients throughout Georgia including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs.

Source:

efast.gaappeals.us/download?filingId=04000355-85ad-4d8e-af95-1dfa5f9573e4