State v. Hamann’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

1 federal appellate · 20 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 25 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “The majority rule is that the jury should not be informed of the effect of such a verdict. Two principle reasons are given for this view. The first is that such information is irrelevant to the jury’s proper function, the determination of the insanity issue. The second reason is that the information would invite a compromised verdict. ... [A]n instruction to the jury regarding the post-trial disposition of a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity is irrelevant to the jury’s proper function. It could only serve to confuse the jury or invite it to consider improperly defendant’s post-trial disposition. A jury might improperly consider defendant’s post-trial disposition even in the absence of an instruction on that subject. But this does not justify our aiding and abetting it in that role. Rather, such a possibility merely tends to illustrate the necessity of precisely informing the jury of its proper function.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Kehoe · State v. Fetters

2. ““Insane” or “insanity,” as used in this instruction, means such a diseased or deranged condition of mind as to render a person either incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of the act committed by him, or incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong in relation to that act.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. State v. Sullivan · State v. Collins

3. “The [M’Naghten] judges expressly held that a defendant who knew nothing of the law would none the less be responsible if he knew that the act was wrong, by which, therefore, they must have meant, if he knew that it was morally wrong. Whether he would also be re sponsible if he knew that it was against the law, but did not know it to be morally wrong, is a question that was not considered. In most cases, of course, knowledge that an act is illegal will justify the inference of knowledge that it is wrong. But none the less it is the knowledge of wrong, conceived of as moral wrong, that seems to have been established by that decision as the controlling test. That must certainly have been the test under the older law when the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong imported a capacity to distinguish between good and evil as abstract qualities.[ 10 ] There is nothing to justify the belief that the words right and wrong, when they became limited by [M’jNaughten’s Case to the right and wrong of the particular act, cast off their meaning as terms of morals, and became terms of pure legality.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. People v. Serravo