Spisak v. Mitchell

I concur in the majority opinion, except for its treatment of Issue 1, Spisak’s insanity defense. I believe that the trial court’s exclusion of expert testimony and evidence regarding Spisak’s insanity defense and the trial court’s refusal to submit the insanity defense to the jury violated Spisak’s rights to a fair trial and to present a complete defense, rights long recognized by the Supreme Court. Therefore I would remand this case to the district court with instructions to grant a conditional writ of habeas corpus, giving the State of Ohio 180 days to retry Spisak or release him from…