Durham v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
94 U.S. App. D.C. 228, 214 F.2d 862 (1954)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
The District of Columbia (plaintiff) prosecuted Monte Durham (defendant) for housebreaking, and at his bench trial Durham's only defense was that he was of unsound mind at the time. There was ample trial evidence that Durham had a long history of treatment for mental illness and of crimes that might have been produced by that illness, although some hospital records indicated that Durham had been cured of the illness but retained a psychopathic personality. The judge asked a medical expert witness if, at the time of his offense, Durham could identify right from wrong. The expert replied that most mentally ill persons can tell right from wrong, but that this is not determinative of whether Durham's mental illness affected his criminal behavior. The judge found Durham guilty, and he appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bazelon, J.)
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