Fulcher v. State
Wyoming Supreme Court
633 P.2d 142 (1981)
After heavy drinking, Fulcher (defendant) was arrested for public intoxication and placed in a jail cell with an already-unconscious man, Martin Hernandez; the jailer heard sounds of kicking and returned to find Fulcher standing over Hernandez, kicking him bloody. Fulcher was charged with aggravated assault; at trial, a doctor testified Fulcher had suffered a brain injury and was in a state of "traumatic automatism," meaning he lacked conscious, willful control over his actions and awareness of his surroundings, at the time of the attack. Fulcher was convicted and appealed, arguing automatism should have been recognized as a defense distinct from insanity.
Whether, in Wyoming, the defense of unconsciousness resulting from a concussion with no permanent brain damage is an affirmative defense that is separate and distinct from the defense of insanity.