Anderson v. Department of Health & Mental Hygiene

WILNER, Judge.

In 1984, the General Assembly rewrote the State insanity law. In doing so, it changed some of the procedures by which “insanity acquittees” (persons charged with crime but excused from criminal responsibility by reason of insanity) could seek and obtain release from judicially-ordered commitment to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH). The questions before us in this appeal are whether the Legislature intended those changes to apply to persons who, like appellant, were committed prior to the effective date of the new law, and, if so, whether such application would…