United States v. Kristiansen
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
901 F.2d 1463 (8th Cir. 1990)
Kolby Kristiansen (defendant) escaped from a halfway house and defended himself by claiming cocaine addiction and psychosis prevented him from forming the willful intent needed to escape. His expert, Dr. Knowles, was allowed to testify Kristiansen was on cocaine at the time and that psychosis generally could cause people not to appreciate the wrongfulness of their actions, but the trial court barred him from testifying specifically about whether Kristiansen's psychosis would have affected his own ability to appreciate his actions. Kristiansen was convicted and appealed.
Whether a mental health expert may state an opinion as to whether a mental disease would affect a defendant's ability to appreciate his own actions.