Sanity at the Time of the Offense / Mental State at the Time of the Offense

When a defendant's mental state at the time he/she committed an offense is at question, a sanity evaluation may be requested by the court, defense, or prosecution. Although the criteria for an insanity plea depends on the legal jurisdiction in which the crime was committed (e.g., the M'Naughten test), the basis of an insanity plea rests on the basic premise that the defendant was not criminally responsible for his/ her actions at the time of the offense due to the influence of a mental illness. Utilizing relevant legal statutes and case law, psychologists utilize psychological testing and evaluation to address the criteria necessary for an insanity plea. In such evaluations malingering is a concern and should be investigated. Although each case is unique and may require additional testing or evaluation, most evaluations may include the following:

  • Review of records related to the specific offense (e.g., police records, witness statements)
  • Review of background records and history (e.g., academic records, psychiatric/ psychological treatment records)
  • Background information: social history, psychiatric/ psychological history, medical history, substance abuse history
  • Clinical interview(s) of defendant
  • Defendant's self-report and report/ review of collateral sources (e.g., interviews with family, police, mental health records) related to the defendant's mental status around, leading up to, and at the time of the offense
  • Psychological testing (e.g., personality assessment)
  • Malingering assessment*
  • Assessment of the defendant's mental status at the time of the offense as per the relevant legal statute and case law
  • Conclusions / opinions

* Malingering is routinely investigated by the evaluator and additional objective testing may be conducted at the discretion of the evaluator to confirm/ disconfirm a diagnosis of malingering.