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Simple English definitions for legal terms

substantial-capacity test

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A quick definition of substantial-capacity test:

Substantial-Capacity Test: A rule in criminal law that says a person is not responsible for a crime if they have a mental illness that makes it hard for them to understand that what they did was wrong or to follow the law. This rule combines two other rules and is used to determine if someone is not guilty by reason of insanity. It used to be used in many places, but now some places have changed the rules because of a famous case.

A more thorough explanation:

The substantial-capacity test is a legal concept used in criminal law to determine if a person is criminally responsible for their actions. According to the Model Penal Code, a person is not responsible for a crime if they lack substantial capacity due to a mental disease or defect to either appreciate the criminality of their conduct or conform their conduct to the law.

This test takes into account both cognitive and volitional weaknesses and was previously used by federal courts and many states. However, since 1984, many jurisdictions have narrowed the insanity defense and adopted a new test resembling the McNaghten rules.

John is charged with murder, but his defense argues that he was not responsible for his actions due to a mental illness. The substantial-capacity test is used to determine if John lacked the capacity to understand the criminality of his actions or conform his behavior to the law.

If the court finds that John lacked substantial capacity, he may be acquitted of the crime or found not guilty by reason of insanity, which could lead to his commitment to a mental institution.

substance-abuse evaluation and treatment | substantial-certainty test

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16:14
Justice as Fairness!
16:14
also wow I didn’t consider that about immigration policy. hmmm
16:17
@Law-Guy: you get it
16:19
@baddestbunny: oh yeah definitly. Idk how any system of government would work if you can't distribute social goods to everyone.
MildChiller
16:33
does anyone know if the Yale webinars are cameras on?
1a2b3c4d26z
16:35
Justice as deez!
17:49
Quentin Tarantino is interested in watching somebody’s ear getting cut off; David Lynch is interested in the ear.
18:03
Quentin Tarantino can't resist putting a gay scene with a black guy participating in the gay act in his movies.
18:05
David Lynch is just gay.
18:18
Lynch is more in touch with his unconscious/dream state than the average person
18:42
Probably. I just dont know. All I know is he did a good job with Dune.
18:45
You should watch Blue Velvet
18:46
How’s your LSAT studying been going?
18:49
It is good. I have about two more weeks and I broke the 90 level on LSAT Demon which is good last night. My goal is 95 so I can probably get it before I test. It is scaled our of 100. This is for LR. My RC is below that but I know the more I get better at MBT questions the better my RC becomes.
18:50
I watched the trailer for that movie. The run time is 2 hours. May watch it on 2x the speed. Just watched se7en and thats like as graphic as I get so I kinda need a break from weird bodyhorror stuff. The sloth guy in that movie scared me.
18:51
I do like psychological horror though.
18:53
Oh jesus don’t watch the movie at all if you’re gonna watch it on 2x speed
18:54
I have never used lsat demon; how do their levels relate to actual lsat scoring?
18:56
kinda go in 20 point intervals. 20 points if you have mastered lvl 1 difficulty questions, 100 points if you have mastered lvl 5.
18:56
Getting 100 points is incredibly difficult though. anything baout 95 is pushing the 175-180 range. 90-95 is like 170-174 or so. etc.
18:56
yeah but if you’re getting a 95 on all sections what LSAT score is that? how is that calculated?
18:56
oh okay
18:57
so 100 would be a 180?
18:57
Yeah, 100 is like you would get a 180 and there's nothing more to teach you. I have only seen someone with a 100 like 2/3 times.
18:57
are you taking practice tests that are being scored though?
18:57
or just drills
18:57
Yep, they get factored into it.
18:58
I do drilling essentially every day. A timed section every 3, and a test every 2 weeks.
1a2b3c4d26z
20:06
re: WashU's URM lsat differential - fair to chalk that up to LSAT redaction weirdness messing w the scale or are they generally starved for URMs
1a2b3c4d26z
20:07
And an (albeit negligible) inverse URM GPA differential
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