SB 1427, as introduced, Walters. Criminal liability: diminished capacity.
Existing law, as added by Proposition 8, adopted June 8, 1982, among other things, abolished the defense of diminished capacity. Existing law prohibits, in a criminal action, as well as any juvenile court proceeding, evidence concerning an accused person’s intoxication, trauma, mental illness, disease, or defect from being admissible to show or negate capacity to form the particular purpose, intent, motive, malice aforethought, knowledge, or other mental state required for the commission of the crime charged.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 25 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
(a) The defense of diminished capacity is hereby abolished.
3In a criminal action, as well asbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert juvenile court proceeding,
4evidence concerning an accused person’s intoxication, trauma,
5mental illness, disease, or defect shall not be admissible to show
6or negate capacity to form the particular purpose, intent,begin insert malice
P2 1aforethought,end insert motive,begin delete malice aforethought,end delete knowledge, or other
2mental state required for the commission of the crime charged.
3(b) In any criminal proceeding, including any juvenile court
4proceeding, in which a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is
5entered, this defense shall be found by the trier of fact only when
6the accused person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that
7he or she was incapable of knowing or understanding the nature
8and quality of his or her act and of distinguishing right from wrong
9at the time of the commission of the offense.
10(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, evidence of diminished
11capacity or of a mental disorder may be considered by the court
12only at the time of sentencing or other disposition or commitment.
13(d) The provisions of this section shall not be amended by the
14Legislature except by statute passed in each house by rollcall vote
15entered in the journal, two-thirds of the membership concurring,
16or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the
17electors.
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