Word: distinguishing
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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When a Washington, D.C., jury decided this summer that the man who had attempted to assassinate a President could not sufficiently distinguish right from wrong to be held legally accountable for his actions, most of us were shocked. While we may have known for some months in advance that Hinckley might "get off because of insanity," those bold-face headlines heralding the verdict nevertheless knotted our sense of justice deep inside. Since then, journalists, political cartoonists, legal experts, laymen and legislators have launched a barrage of criticism against the insanity plea in criminal proceedings. Many are frustrated to the point...
...SITUATION involving a guilty-but-mentally-ill verdict, the jury would make a two-step determination. First, under the existing standard of ability to distinguish right from wrong, the jurors would decide if the defendant was legally sane at the time he committed the offense for which he is on trial. Only if the jury finds the defendant legally sane can it consider the second question of whether some mental deficiency short of insanity played a role in the commission of the crime. Because the jury uses the current insanity test, any defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity...
...this well and said that the principle was good, but he would agree only if the word "belligerent" was inserted before the word "war" [to distinguish between wars of aggression and pre-emptive strikes for defensive purposes]. He said Israel had been attacked by its Arab neighbors and therefore had a right to occupy lands taken in its own defense...
...complicity in those dreadful events produced a reaction of shock and soul searching unparalleled in the nation's 34-year history. Suddenly many Israelis were wondering if their country had lost the sense of righteousness that David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of the nation, had said must distinguish its actions and its role in the world...
...legal scholars, there are few things worse. They hate to see major legal principles originating in bizarre disputes that will never be repeated. Which is why the old legal saying persists that "Hard cases make bad law." And which is why your average lawyer persists in trying to "distinguish" unusual cases by harping on nitpicking details...