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durham rule

 - 2 dictionary results
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: Dur·ham rule
Pronunciation: 'dur-&m-, 'd&r-
Function: noun
Etymology: from Durham v. United States, 214 Federal Reporter, Second Series 862 (1954), a case heard by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that established the rule
: a rule of criminal law used in some states that holds that in order to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity the defendant's criminal act must be the product of a mental disease or defect —compare IRRESISTIBLE IMPULSE TEST, M'NAGHTEN TEST, SUBSTANTIAL CAPACITY TEST
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Durham rule Dur·ham rule (dûr'əm)
n.
A 1954 U.S. rule used as a test of criminal responsibility and stating that an individual accused of a crime is not criminally responsible if the unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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