Insanity Plea And Criminal Defense

Here’s the story: Imagine you were halted on the road because you were drunk. Obviously, the police officer’s going to charge you DUI for that, a serious offense here in Las Vegas. While the police officer’s preparing the proper procedures to detain you, you thought something funny and cool, and maybe an easy escape from the mess you’d gotten yourself into. You let them take you the police station and started acting stupid and crazy. You were planning to plead for insanity defense.

Question: Is this possible? Yes. There are countless cases in criminal trials where the defendant would use this to mitigate the crime they committed. And mind you, plead for insanity seldom appears on DUI charges but rather on much serious crimes like murder and alike.

Legally speaking, the accused may claim that he or she was insane the moment the crime was committed. Having said so, they affirm the fact that they were the perpetrator of the crime but wasn't morally sane to be liable to the crime at all.

However, proving a insanity plea is not as easy as it sounds. No matter if you have a Tom Cruise or Jessica Lange caliber of acting, fooling the court and the jury isn't like the ones you see in the movies. Take for example the case of Renato Seabra, an ex-model who killed his lover. After he was apprehended, he plead the insanity defense but failed to do so. Statistically speaking, only 20% of the insanity plea made it way past to the jury and acquit the defendant.

Go to our DUI/DWI defense page to know more.