It\'s Criminal Law but that was not an option to select from. Neither was Crimin

Question

It's Criminal Law but that was not an option to select from. Neither was Criminal Justice.

Need a response to the following discussion post:

1. What are the factors required for a Consent excuse and what crimes does it not apply to?

Consent can be a lawful defense to a crime but only if the victim chooses to declare it. Therefore, it must be offered knowingly and voluntarily, or it is ineffective. Under the Model Penal Code, consent is ineffective “if it is given by a person who is legally incompetent to authorize the conduct, it is given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect or intoxication is manifestly unable to make a reasonable judgment, it is induced by force, duress or deception” (Model Penal Code § 2.11(3)). Consent is a defense to only limited crimes. In most jurisdictions, consent can function only as a defense to sexual conduct, injury that occurs during a sporting event, and crimes that do not result in serious bodily injury or death. As the Model Penal Code states, “[w]hen conduct is charged to constitute an offense because it causes or threatens bodily harm, consent to such conduct or to the infliction of such harm is a defense if: (a) the bodily harm consented to or threatened by the conduct consented to is not serious; or (b) the conduct and the harm are reasonably foreseeable hazards of joint participation in a lawful athletic contest or competitive sport” (Model Penal Code § 2.11(2)).

2. Describe the Diminished Capacity defense and what does the defendant need to prove for it to be successful?

Diminished capacity is a legal defense where a defendant admits his guilt but argues that he should not be held fully liable for his actions due to his diminished mental state at the time. Someone who is victorious on a diminished mental capacity plea will simply be convicted of a lesser offense. The diminished capacity plea is based in the belief that certain people, because of mental impairment or disease, are simply incapable of reaching the mental state required to commit a specific crime. In the example of murder and manslaughter, a diminished capacity defense opposes that a certain defendant is incapable of intending to cause a death, and therefore must have at most caused such a death recklessly. Therefore, a successful plea of diminished capacity in a murder trial would likely result in the charge being reduced to manslaughter.

A diminished capacity plea differs in important ways from not guilty by reason of insanity. Reason of insanity is an affirmative defense to crimes. That is, a successful plea of insanity will result in a verdict of not guilty and assignment of the defendant to a mental institution. Diminished capacity however, merely results in the defendant being convicted of a lesser offense.

Samaha, J. (2017). Criminal Law Today. New York: Aspen Publishing

LII Staff. (2015, March 14). Diminished Capacity. Retrieved September 3, 2018, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/diminished_capacity

Explanation / Answer

What are the factors required for a Consent excuse

If a person has given his or her consent for the act than that person on whom case has been registered can not be held for that act. And he can be excused, consent is ineffective “if it is given by a person who is legally incompetent to authorize the conduct, it is given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect or intoxication is manifestly unable to make a reasonable judgment

What crimes does it not apply to

Consent can function only as a defense to sexual conduct, injury that occurs during a sporting event, and crimes that do not result in serious bodily injury or death.

Describe the Diminished Capacity defense

Diminished capacity is a legal defense but a defendant should admit his guilt and he should urge that he should not be held for the crime as he was in his diminished mental state at the time (such as confusion, amnesia (memory loss), loss of alertness, disorientation)

What does the defendant need to prove for it to be successful?

They need to prove that they are not mental stable,and diminished capacity defense should oppose that a certain defendant is incapable of intending to cause a death. A successful plea of insanity will result in a verdict of not guilty and assignment of the defendant to a mental institution.

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