Earlier this week, the Supreme Judicial Court, in
Comm. v. DiPadova, recommended a revised set of jury instructions in cases where a defendant's legal capacity is at issue because of a combination of mental illness and drug or alcohol use. The summary provided in the opinion provides a clear explanation:
"where a defendant's substance abuse interacts with a mental disease or defect, that defendant is criminally responsible only if two conditions are true: (1) his mental condition alone, prior to the consumption of the drugs, did not render him criminally irresponsible; and (2) he knew or reasonably should have known that this consumption would cause him to lose substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the law--that is, would cause him to become criminally irresponsible."
The recommended revision provided in the case appendix is reprinted below:
RECOMMENDED REVISION OF BERRY INSTRUCTION
"A defendant's lack of criminal responsibility must be due to a mental disease or defect. Intoxication caused by the voluntary consumption of alcohol or drugs, by itself, is not a mental disease or defect. Where a defendant lacks substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the law solely as a result of voluntary intoxication, then he is criminally responsible for his conduct.
"However, the consumption of alcohol or drugs may trigger or intensify (make worse) a defendant's preexisting mental disease or defect. If it does so, and the mental disease or defect then causes the defendant to lose the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law, the defendant is not criminally responsible for his conduct.
[Continue as follows where there is evidence of defendant's knowledge:]
"There is one exception to the principle just stated. A defendant who loses the substantial capacity I have just described after he consumes drugs or alcohol, who knows or had reason to know that consumption would trigger or intensify in him a mental illness or condition that could cause him to lack that capacity, is criminally responsible for his resulting conduct. In deciding what the defendant had reason to know about the consequences of his consumption of drugs or alcohol, you should consider the question solely from the defendant's point of view, including his mental capacity and his past experience with drugs or alcohol. But you must keep in mind that ...
or
[Continue as follows where there is no evidence of a defendant's knowledge:
"You must also keep in mind that ...] ... where a defendant, at the time the crime is committed, has a mental disease or defect that itself causes him to lack the substantial capacity that I have just described, he is not criminally responsible for his conduct regardless of whether he uses or does not use alcohol or drugs. That is true even if he does use alcohol or drugs and the alcohol or drug use makes the symptoms of his mental disease or defect worse, and even if he knew they would make his symptoms worse.
"Remember that the Commonwealth must prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was sane at the time the crime was committed, that is, that the defendant did not lack criminal responsibility at that time. It is the Commonwealth's burden to prove, at the time of the crime, at least one of the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt:
"that the defendant did not suffer from a mental disease or defect; or
"that if the defendant did suffer from a mental disease or defect, he nonetheless retained the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law; or
"that if the defendant lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to legal requirements, his lack of such capacity was solely the result of voluntary intoxication by alcohol or other drugs; or
"that if the defendant lacked the substantial capacity I have just described due to a combination of a mental disease or defect and his voluntary consumption of alcohol or other drugs, he knew or should have known that his use of the substance[s] would interact with his mental disease or defect and cause him to lose such capacity.
"If the Commonwealth has failed to prove at least one of these four facts beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility."
