ASSEMBLY, No. 1088

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen CORODEMUS and AZZOLINA

An Act establishing a verdict of "guilty but mentally ill," amending N.J.S.2C:1-14 and supplementing Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. N.J.S.2C:1-14 is amended to read as follows:

    2C:1-14. In this code, unless a different meaning plainly is required:

    a. "Statute" includes the Constitution and a local law or ordinance of a political subdivision of the State;

    b. "Act" or "action" means a bodily movement whether voluntary or involuntary;

    c. "Omission" means a failure to act;

    d. "Conduct" means an action or omission and its accompanying state of mind, or, where relevant, a series of acts and omissions;

    e. "Actor" includes, where relevant, a person guilty of an omission;

    f. "Acted" includes, where relevant, "omitted to act";

    g. "Person," "he," and "actor" include any natural person and, where relevant, a corporation or an unincorporated association;

    h. "Element of an offense" means (1) such conduct or (2) such attendant circumstances or (3) such a result of conduct as

    (a) Is included in the description of the forbidden conduct in the definition of the offense;

    (b) Establishes the required kind of culpability;

    (c) Negatives an excuse or justification for such conduct;

    (d) Negatives a defense under the statute of limitations; or

    (e) Establishes jurisdiction or venue;

    i. "Material element of an offense" means an element that does not relate exclusively to the statute of limitations, jurisdiction, venue or to any other matter similarly unconnected with (1) the harm or evil, incident to conduct, sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense, or (2) the existence of a justification or excuse for such conduct;

    j. "Reasonably believes" or "reasonable belief" designates a belief the holding of which does not make the actor reckless or criminally negligent;

    k. "Offense" means a crime, a disorderly persons offense or a petty disorderly persons offense unless a particular section in this code is intended to apply to less than all three;

    l. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.1991, c.91).

    m. "Amount involved," "benefit," and other terms of value. Where it is necessary in this act to determine value, for purposes of fixing the degree of an offense, that value shall be the fair market value at the time and place of the operative act.

    n. "Motor vehicle" shall have the meaning provided in R.S.39:1-1.     o. "Unlawful taking of a motor vehicle" means conduct prohibited under N.J.S.2C:20-10 when the means of conveyance taken, operated or controlled is a motor vehicle.

    p. "Research facility" means any building, laboratory, institution, organization, school, or person engaged in research, testing educational or experimental activities, or any commercial or academic enterprise that uses warm-blooded or cold-blooded animals for food or fiber production, agriculture, research, testing, experimentation or education. A research facility includes, but is not limited to, any enclosure, separately secured yard, pad, pond, vehicle, building structure or premises or separately secured portion thereof.

    q. "Mentally ill" means a substantial disorder of thought, mood or behavior which afflicted a person at the time of the commission of a criminal offense and which impaired that person's judgment, but not to the extent that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.

(cf: P.L.1995, c.20, s.1)

    2. (New section) In rendering a verdict in a criminal case, the court may find the defendant:

    a. Not guilty;

    b. Guilty;

    c. Not guilty by reason of insanity; or

    d. Guilty but mentally ill.

    3. (New section) a. A person who, at the time of the commission of a criminal offense, was not insane but was mentally ill, is not relieved of criminal responsibility for his conduct and may be found guilty but mentally ill.

    b. If a defendant is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the offense, or enters a plea to that effect that is accepted by the court, the court shall sentence him in the same manner as a defendant found guilty of that offense.

    c. If a defendant who is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the offense is committed by the court to the custody of the Department of Corrections, he shall undergo a psychiatric evaluation and be given such treatment as is psychiatrically indicated for his mental illness. Treatment shall be provided by the Department of Corrections in conjunction with the Department of Human Services in accordance with the plan to provide mental health services to inmates in State-owned or operated correctional facilities pursuant to P.L.1986, c.71 (C.30:4-82.1).

    4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill would establish a new verdict in criminal cases of "guilty but mentally ill." Currently at least twelve other states provide for this verdict, which functions as a fourth alternative to the verdicts of "guilty," "not guilty," and "not guilty by reason of insanity."

    Currently, a person is not guilty by reason of insanity if he committed the criminal offense, but at the time of the offense labored under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong. A person found not guilty by reason of insanity is not considered to be criminally responsible for the crime. Depending on the defendant's potential dangerousness to the community or to himself, the court has the option to release him with or without supervision or to commit him to a mental health facility to be treated as a person civilly committed.

    Under this bill, a defendant would be found "guilty but mentally ill" if he had a substantial disorder of thought, mood, or behavior which afflicted him at the time of the commission of the criminal offense and which impaired his judgment, but not to the extent that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong. Upon sentencing, the defendant would be subject to the same term of imprisonment or other disposition as any other defendant convicted of the crime. If the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment, he would undergo psychiatric evaluation and be given such treatment as is psychiatrically indicated for his mental illness. Treatment would be provided by the Department of Corrections in conjunction with the Department of Human Services.

Creates new verdict of "guilty but mentally ill."