M'Naghten test

M'Naghten test
M'Naght·en test /mək-'nät-ən-/ n [after Daniel M'Naghten, defendant in 1843 murder case heard before the British House of Lords who was acquitted due to his insanity]: a standard under which a criminal defendant is considered to have been insane at the time of an act (as a killing) if he or she did not know right from wrong or did not understand the moral nature of the act because of a mental disease or defect – called also M'Naghten rule;; compare diminished capacity, durham rule, irresistible impulse test, substantial capacity test
◇ Many jurisdictions have followed the Model Penal Code in basing criminal insanity on either of two factors: an inability to appreciate the wrongfulness of an act, which reflects the influence of the M'Naghten test, and an inability to conform one's behavior to the dictates of the law, which reflects the concept of the irresistible impulse. Both factors must be rooted in a mental disease or defect, which is also what the Durham rule requires of insanity.

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

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  • M'Naghten Test — The right and wrong test of criminal responsibility, the terminology being taken from the title of an English Case. M Naghten s Case, 10 Clark & F 200, 8 Eng Reprint 718. See right and wrong test …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • M'Naghten test — /meuhk nawt n/ a rule that defines a person as legally insane when that person cannot distinguish right from wrong. [after Daniel M Naghten (d. 1865), defendant in a murder case adjudicated in England in 1843] * * * …   Universalium

  • M'Naghten test — /meuhk nawt n/ a rule that defines a person as legally insane when that person cannot distinguish right from wrong. [after Daniel M Naghten (d. 1865), defendant in a murder case adjudicated in England in 1843] …   Useful english dictionary

  • test — 1. To prove; to try a substance; to determine the chemical nature of a substance by means of reagents. 2. A method of examination, as to determine the presence or absence of a definite disease or of some substance in any of the fluids, tissues,… …   Medical dictionary

  • M'Naghten Rule — The test applied in a number of the states for the defense of insanity. This test, as prescribed by statute or case law, has a number of variations in the respective states applying such. Under M Naghten test or rule, an accused is not criminally …   Black's law dictionary

  • M'Naghten Rule — The test applied in a number of the states for the defense of insanity. This test, as prescribed by statute or case law, has a number of variations in the respective states applying such. Under M Naghten test or rule, an accused is not criminally …   Black's law dictionary

  • substantial capacity test — n: a test used in many jurisdictions when considering an insanity defense which relieves a defendant of criminal responsibility if at the time of the crime as a result of mental disease or defect the defendant lacked the capacity to appreciate… …   Law dictionary

  • irresistible impulse test — n: a test used in some jurisdictions when considering an insanity defense that involves a determination of whether an impulse to commit a criminal act was irresistible due to mental disease or defect regardless of whether the defendant knew right …   Law dictionary

  • right–wrong test — n: m naghten test Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • M'Naghten Rules — The M Naghten Rules (pronounced, and sometimes spelled, McNaughton) were a reaction to the acquittal of Daniel McNaughton. They arise from the attempted assassination of the British Prime Minister, Robert Peel, in 1843 by Daniel M Naghten. In… …   Wikipedia

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