Durham v. United States

BAZELON, Circuit Judge.

Monte Durham was convicted of housebreaking, 1 2 by the District Court sitting without a jury. The only defense asserted at the trial was that Durham was of unsound mind at the time of the offense. We are now urged to reverse the conviction (1) because the trial court did not correctly apply existing rules governing the burden of proof on the defense of insanity, and (2) because existing tests of criminal responsibility are obsolete and should be superseded. 8

I

Durham has a long history of imprisonment and hospitalization. In 1945, at the age of 17, he was discharged…