Durham rule

Durham rule
Dur·ham rule /'du̇r-əm-, 'dər-/ n [from Durham v. United States, 214 F.2d 862 (1954), a case heard by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that established the rule]: a rule of criminal law used in some states that holds that in order to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity the defendant's criminal act must be the product of a mental disease or defect compare irresistible impulse test, m'naghten test, substantial capacity test

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

Durham rule
A principle of criminal law used to determine the validity of the insanity defense asserted by an accused, that he or she was insane at the time of committing a crime and therefore should not be held legally responsible for the action.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


Durham rule
A principle of criminal law used to determine the validity of the insanity defense asserted by an accused, that he or she was insane at the time of committing a crime and therefore should not be held legally responsible for the action.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

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  • Durham Rule — Durham Rule, U.S. the rule that an accused person is not criminally responsible if his crime was the product of a diseased or defective mental condition. ╂[< U.S. vs. Durham, a case tried in 1954 < Monte Durham, the accused in this case] …   Useful english dictionary

  • Durham rule — The Durham Rule or product test was adopted by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1954, in the case of Durham v. U.S. (214 F.2d 862), and states that ... an accused is not criminally responsible if his… …   Wikipedia

  • Durham rule — Dur·ham rule (d rґəm) [Durham, surname of an American felon judged to be criminally insane in 1954] see under rule …   Medical dictionary

  • Durham rule — The irresistible impulse test of criminal responsibility. The rule states that when there is some evidence that the accused suffered from a diseased or defective mental condition at the time the unlawful act was committed the accused is not… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Durham rule — The irresistible impulse test of criminal responsibility. The rule states that when there is some evidence that the accused suffered from a diseased or defective mental condition at the time the unlawful act was committed the accused is not… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Durham Rule — noun Etymology: Monte Durham, 20th century American litigant Date: 1955 a legal hypothesis under which a person is not judged responsible for a criminal act that is attributed to a mental disease or defect …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Durham rule — a definition of criminal responsibility from a 1954 federal court of appeals case, Durham vs. United States; the court held that “an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental… …   Medical dictionary

  • Rule of the Major-Generals — The Rule of the Major Generals from August 1655 – January 1657,[1] was a period of direct military government during Oliver Cromwell s Protectorate.[2] England was divided into 10 regions[3] each governed by a Major General who answered to the… …   Wikipedia

  • Durham College (17th-century) — New College, Durham was a university institution set up by Oliver Cromwell, to provide an alternative to (and break the effective monopoly of) the older University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. It also had the aim of bringing university… …   Wikipedia

  • rule — A criterion, standard, or guide governing a procedure, arrangement, action, etc. SEE ALSO: law, principle, theorem. [O. Fr. reule, fr. L. regula, a guide, pattern] Abegg r. the tendency of the sum of the …   Medical dictionary

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