capacity defense 能力欠缺抗辩；刑事责任能力欠缺辩护指欠缺可构成诉讼的基本能力。例如，某人因受胁迫而欠缺合同的意思能力，后如因此合同而被起诉，则其可提出能力欠缺抗辩。同样，如某少年被指控在其7岁时实施犯罪行为，则其可以欠缺刑事责任能力为由进行辩护。作为一种抗辩(或辩护)，其意图在于否认责任之诉中的某些必要因素。 (→competency proceedings; competency to stand trial; defense; insanity; intoxication)
A defense based on the defendant’s inability to be held accountable for an illegal act or the plaintiff’s inability to prosecute a lawsuit (as when the plaintiff was a corporation, but has lost its corporate charter). See CAPACITY.
XYY-chromosome defense. Criminal law. A defense, usu. asserted as the basis for an insanity plea, whereby a male defendant argues that his criminal behavior is due to the genetic abnormality of having an extra Y chro-mosome, which causes him to have uncontrollable aggressive impulses. • Most courts have rejected this defense because its scientific foundations
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insanity defense. Criminal law. An affirmative defense alleging that a mental disorder caused the accused to commit the crime. See 18 USCA § 17; Fed. R. Crim. P. 12. 2. • Unlike other defenses, a successful insanity defense may not result in in acquittal but instead in a special verdict (“not guilty by reason of
specific-intent defense. Criminal law. A defendant’s claim that he or she did not have the capacity (often supposedly because of intoxication or mental illness) to form the intent necessary for committing the crime alleged.
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A novel defense based on diminished capacity attributed to stress or impairment. • The phrase derives from the fact that the defense is tailored to the defendant and the circumstances of the crime. Examples include extraordinary reactions to snack food (the Twinkie defense), unconsciousness or sleepwalking, and postpartum psychosis. See AUTOMATISM.
Criminal law. An affirmative defense alleging that a mental disorder caused the accused to commit the crime. See 18 USCA § 17; Fed. R. Crim. P. 12.2. • Unlike other defenses, a successful insanity defense may not result in in acquittal but instead in a special verdict (“not guilty by reason of insanity”) that usu.
substantial-capacity test. Criminal law. The Model Penal Code’s test for the insanity defense, stating that a person is not criminally responsible for an act if, as a result of a mental disease or defect, the person lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of the conduct or to conform the conduct to the law.
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Denman’s Act. Hist. 1. The (English) Evidence Act of 1843, providing that no person offered as a witness can be excluded because of incapacity due to a past crime or an interest in the proceedings. — Also termed Lord Denman’s Act. 2. The (English) Criminal Procedure Act of 1865 that allowed defense counsel to sum
competency, n. 1. The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions. [Cases: Mental Health 3. C.J.S. Insane Persons§§ 2, 6.] 2. A criminal defendant’s ability to stand trial, measured by the capacity to understand the proceedings, to consult meaningfully with counsel, and to assist in the defense. — Also termed competency to stand trial.