Criminal Justice System: The Difference Between Competency And Sanity

The Criminal Justice System is based on the concept of Federalism. Federalism is a system of government that divides power between the federal and the state government. The federal nor the state government is fully responsible for the administration of laws and rules, therefore each branch of government can enforce their own policies and rules. In the system, a defendant on trial can use a criminal defense that involves justification. The insanity defense is used to determine if a person’s mental state was the cause of the criminal activity. In the trial, the court looks at the differences between the defendant’s competency to stand trial and the mental state of the defendant at the time of the crime. The competency of a defendant to stand trial looks at if the defendant “knows the court’s proceedings and if they know what they are

2014, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/so-sue-me/201411/the-difference-between-competency-and-sanity.). The judge also looks at the person’s mental state at the time of the crime. The main difference between competency to stand trial and insanity at the time of the event is that the competency can look at mental and physical health, while the insanity at the time of the event only looks at one’s mental state. The steps required in an insanity plea in the courts are: The M’Naghten rule, which “determines if the defendant understood what they did and could not distinguish right from wrong” (“Insanity Defense - FindLaw.” http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/insanity-defense.html.), The Irresistible Impulse Test, which “tests a defendant’s impulse control” (“Insanity Defense - FindLaw.” http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/insanity-defense.html.), the Durham Rule, which “looks at the defendant’s mental defect as the cause of a criminal act” (“Insanity Defense - FindLaw.”