Smith v. United States
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
36 F.2d 548 (1929)

- Written by Sara Rhee, JD
Facts
Franklin Smith (defendant) was charged with murdering his daughter. At trial, Smith testified that he wanted to stop himself from killing his daughter but could not. Two physicians testified that Smith likely understood that what he was doing was wrong, but that he was unable to stop. Smith sought a jury instruction advising that the defense of insanity could be established if the jury found that Smith suffered from a perverted and deranged mental condition that rendered him incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, or, even if he were capable of distinguishing right from wrong, that his will was so overcome by his mental condition that his conduct was beyond his control. The trial court refused to give the requested instruction, instead instructing the jury that it could not excuse Smith’s conduct if it found that Smith knew that what he was doing was wrong. Smith was convicted of first-degree murder. Smith appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Van Orsdel, J.)
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