Smith v. State
Supreme Court of Alaska
614 P.2d 300 (1980)
After learning of his impending discharge, army private Smith (defendant), diagnosed schizophrenic, fled the base with a stolen truck and gun and, during a police chase, shot and wounded an officer who then shot and wounded him; at trial, two psychiatrists testified Smith lacked capacity to conform his conduct to the law due to delusions, while a third, Rader, testified Smith exhibited a syndrome of feigning insanity to achieve his goal of discharge and had behaved in a generally reasonable, goal-directed manner during his escape, a view supported by lay witnesses; the trial court found Smith legally sane.
Whether the prosecution can meet its burden of proving that a defendant was legally sane at the time of the crime by providing substantial evidence, despite the fact that this evidence is contradicted by other expert testimony.