Diminished Capacity Defense

A person who is accused and charged of committing a crime becomes a criminal defendant. They are presumed to be innocent until the government proves that they are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, a defense which either excuses or justifies their criminal behavior may prevent a criminal conviction, or reduce a criminal charge.

Some examples of the most commonly asserted criminal defenses include:

• Self Defense: Generally speaking, federal criminal law allows a self-defense justification under specific circumstances. This includes when the defendant was not the aggressor; their reaction was a reasonable response to the threat; and, they actually and reasonably believed that they were in danger of imminent serious bodily injury or death. This can be challenging to prove especially if witness testimony conflicts. However, if fully proven, self-defense will completely absolve the defendant of the crime that they committed;
• Duress Or Necessity: Most states recognize duress and necessity defenses to crimes that were committed under the threat of death or serious bodily injury. An example of this would be how if someone forces someone else to steal a car by threatening them with a gun to their head, duress could be used as a defense to a charge of auto theft. Necessity, which is also known as the lesser harm defense, may apply if the defendant broke into a mountain cabin in order to prevent from freezing to death in a blizzard. While these defenses are highly uncommon, a criminal defendant has a complete defense where duress and/or necessity is proven;
• Insanity: It is important to note that mental disease or defect is generally not an acceptable defense; however, if the defendant suffered from a severe mental illness or defect at the time of commission of the offense, the insanity defense could prevent them from serving time in prison. The intention behind the insanity defense is that a person should not be punished because they are unable to form the willful intent that is necessary to commit an offense.
  • Proving insanity requires clear and competent expert testimony, and those who successfully plead insanity are not set free. Rather, they are sent to medical facilities in order to be treated, and are not released until they regain their sanity. Such treatment may take longer than the prison sentence that they would have received if convicted;
• Intoxication: Intoxication generally does not serve as a defense to criminal charges, especially when the defendant became intoxicated voluntarily. This is because criminal law holds people responsible for their choice to become intoxicated, even if they would not have committed the crime if they had been sober. If the defense can show that the influence of drugs or alcohol made the defendant unable to be guilty of intentionally committing the crime due to their diminished capacity, intoxication may justify a reduced charge.
  • However, intoxication may provide a total defense for a defendant who became involuntarily intoxicated. An example of this would be if they committed a crime as a result of being unknowingly drugged, or forced to consume large amounts of alcohol;
• Alibi: An alibi provides a strong criminal defense and helps the assertion of actual innocence. Ideally, an alibi will account for the defendant’s whereabouts in a way which makes it impossible for them to be guilty of the crime. At the very least, an alibi should create reasonable doubt regarding their guilt. An example of this would be how if the state charges a defendant with a burglary in one state, and the defendant can prove that they were in another state at the time of the crime, this will probably prevent their conviction;
• Entrapment: The law prohibits all law enforcement officers from inducing or persuading a person to commit a crime that they had no previous intention to commit. If the defendant can prove that their arrest resulted from police entrapment, they cannot be convicted of that crime, even if they did truly commit it. However, this defense generally depends on the testimony of the defendant against the testimony of the police. Juries are historically more likely to prefer the testimony of the police over the testimony of a criminal defendant, especially if the defendant has a history of crime; and
• Mistake Of Law: Being unaware of or misunderstanding a law, such as not knowing the death with dignity law in a specific state, does not excuse or justify criminal behavior. Every person is responsible for knowing and abiding by state and federal laws, and as such a defendant can be convicted for actions which they did not even know were against the law. Mistake of law is very rarely a successful or even appropriate defense.
  • However, a mistake involving facts may be an effective defense. An example of this would be if a defendant accidentally takes someone else’s bag home from the airport, because they thought it was their bag. They may avoid charges of theft if they can show that they took the wrong bag by mistake.

What Is The Diminished Capacity Defense?

As was previously mentioned, a criminal defendant’s legal team may attempt to use the defense of diminished capacity in order to limit the criminal liability of the defendant. This specific type of defense states that the mental capacity of the accused was diminished, and to the point that they did not have the intent that is required to commit the crime.

The diminished capacity defense is not allowed in many jurisdictions, the reasoning being that the insanity defense should be used instead to link a mental defect with criminal actions. When the diminished capacity defense is allowed in court, it can only be used for specific intent crimes.

Specific intent refers to an intentional state of mind that is required to knowingly commit a certain crime. Additionally, a plea of diminished capacity would not result in a “not guilty” verdict; rather, the defendant would receive a reduced sentence under federal sentencing guidelines.

It is important to note that a diminished capacity plea is not the same as an insanity plea. A successful plea of insanity will result in a verdict of “not guilty by reason of insanity,” and the defendant will be ordered to a mental institution. A successful diminished capacity plea will result in the defendant being convicted of a lesser charge. “Reason of insanity” is known as an affirmative and complete defense to crimes, while “diminished capacity” mitigates the crime and as such results in a lesser charge conviction.

In terms of the defense of “heat of passion,” that defense is used for murder or attempted murder. Essentially, the defendant had no time to premeditate the attack, so it is not possible for the defendant to commit first degree murder. Instead, the charge is generally reduced to manslaughter, which is a lesser crime with a reduced punishment. Although similar to diminished capacity in that it can reduce the severity of the charges, it is not a complete defense such as insanity.

It is possible to use an intoxication defense as the basis for having diminished capacity in the commission of a crime, as was previously mentioned. The defendant may be able to prove that the required intent to commit the crime could not possibly have been present, due to the fact that drugs or alcohol diminished their mental capacity.

Do I Need An Attorney To Make A Diminished Capacity Defense?

If you are involved in a criminal case at all, you will need to work with an experienced and local criminal attorney. A local lawyer will be able to determine whether there are any legal defenses available to you based on the specifics of your case, and whether your state allows for a diminished capacity defense.