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The Supreme Court of the United States heard Kahler v. Kansas, a case particularly relevant to CLASS, on 10/07/2019. At issue is whether defendants' due process rights are violated when they do not have the option of posing a traditional insanity defense. The American Psychological Association, along with the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, filed an amicus brief supporting Kahler's position. It is critical to remember, as noted in the brief, that the insanity defense is not "used and abused." Indeed, we know that very few defendants attempt an insanity defense, and Kois & Chauhan (2018), in their meta-analysis, found that approximately 13% of defendants who pose the defense are found not criminally responsible. You can hear the SCOTUS oral arguments here, the transcript here, and a re-cap here. The case is pending.
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