In a couple of weeks, the Supreme Court will hear arguments
in the case of Kahler v. Kansas. The
central question is whether there is a federal constitutional right to the insanity
defense. It is my view that the Court
should find such a right and I would like to explain why.
The cornerstone of our criminal justice system is responsibility. We presume that people are responsible for their conduct and should be punished when they violate the law. Punishment and social condemnation are reserved for the criminal justice system. A system of crime control without blame and punishment is merely a civil system of behavioral management (which we now see with the various civil sex offender statutes).
For someone to be responsible, he must be a rational agent. To be rational is to have reasons based on accurate perceptions and the ability to form sound judgments. Only humans are capable of being guided by reasons, and the law presumes that people can and should be judged by their reasons. The capacity for rationality is a necessity for legal and moral responsibility, which is why young children and those with profound intellectual disabilities have long been considered not responsible for their conduct.