Automatism

Automatism
· if a person has no control over an act, he cannot be held responsible for it – the
concept is similar to being ‘briefly insane’
· it is a legal term, and has no connection with epileptic automatisms
· verdicts of not guilty have been returned when acts of violence were judged to have
been committed as ‘sane automatisms’
· sane automatism:
· leads to a full acquittal
· seen to be due to an ‘external cause’
· includes:
· absent-mindednesss (in association with depression)
· insane automatism:
· automatism thought to arise from a ‘disease of the mind’ – the appropriate
defence is then insanity and the McNaghten rules apply
· are due to an ‘internal cause’ because the conditions may reoccur
· includes:
· epileptic automatism
· hypoglycaemia, hyperglycaemia
· sleep-walking
· arteriosclerosis
Amnesia
· in the absence of organic disease, the presence of amnesia is unlikely to carry any
legal implications