People v. Donovan
California Supreme Court
Appeal from the District Court of the Fifteenth Judicial District, City and County of San Francisco. The first three instructions asked by the defendant were as follows: “ 1. A person while in a state of insanity is by law deemed to be incapable of crime. And insanity of the prisoner at the instant of commission of the offense can be established by evidence tending to prove that he was insane at some period before or afterwards.
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Appeal from the District Court of the Fifteenth Judicial District, City and County of San Francisco. The first three instructions asked by the defendant were as follows: “ 1. A person while in a state of insanity is by law deemed to be incapable of crime. And insanity of the prisoner at the instant of commission of the offense can be established by evidence tending to prove that he was insane at some period before or afterwards. “2. The presumption of law is always prima facie in favor of sanity. Whenever the exemption from liability is claimed on the ground of mental unsoundness it devolves…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court,
Wallace, C. J.:
The prisoner upon trial upon an indictment for the crime of murder relied for defense upon his alleged insanity at the time of the homicide, and called as a 'witness one O’ifeal, who testified to some peculiarities in the appearance and conduct of the prisoner on the day of the homicide, and stated his belief therefrom to be that the prisoner “ must have been entirely out of his right mind,” etc. Upon cross-examination, the District Attorney exhibited to the witness a paper purporting to be signed by the witness and inquired if his name appearing thereto was in his…
2Cited by8 opinions
- People v. SuttonCalifornia Supreme Court · 1887
- Gunter v. StateSupreme Court of Alabama · 1887
- Ortiz v. StateSupreme Court of Florida · 1892
- People Ex Rel. Department of Public Works v. MurataCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1958
- People v. DarrowCalifornia Supreme Court · 1931
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