M'Naghten rule
[mik-naw´ton] a definition of criminal responsibility formulated in 1843 by English judges questioned by the House of Lords as a result of the acquittal of Daniel M' Naghten on grounds of insanity. It holds that “to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or, if he did know it, he did not know he was doing what was wrong” and further that a defendant who “labors under partial delusions only and is not in other respects insane… must be considered in the same situation as to responsibility as if the facts with respect to which the delusion exists were real.” These rules are still used in many American jurisdictions.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
M'Nagh·ten rule
(mik-naw'tĕn), the classic English test of criminal responsibility (1843): "to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reasoning, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong."
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
A 1843 ruling by the House of Lords, also largely valid in the US, which holds that a person accused of a crime is not criminally liable thereof if he/she ’...was labouring under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind as not to know the nature and quality of the acts, or, if he did know it, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong’Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
M'Nagh·ten rule
(mik-naw'tĕn rūl) The classic English test of criminal responsibility (1843): "to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reasoning, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong."
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
M'Naghten,
Daniel, English criminal, tried in March, 1843. M'Naghten rule - the classic English test of criminal responsibility.
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