2668

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 501

responsibility. Having the test spelled out in full in this
section, including the exclusion expressed in this
subsection, returns the wording of the test to its substance
before the 1982 style revision of this section and has
practical benefit for purposes of expert testimony,
examination and evaluation, instructions to the jury, and
public understanding.

The Task Force recommends that the present test for criminal
responsibility be retained, including both the volitional
and cognitive components. As an integral part of this
State's criminal justice system, it stands for one of the
basic tenets of criminal law, that punishment for wrongdoing
is predicated on culpability. The test for criminal
responsibility defines the nature and degree of mental
disorder or mental retardation that relieves an offender of
criminal punishment. A study prepared for the Task Force by
the staff at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, S. Silver
and M. Spodak, "Dissection of the Prongs of A.L.I." (June
12, 1983), indicates that deleting the volitional prong
could "systematically eliminate a class of psychotic patient
whose illness is clearest in symptomatology, most likely
biologic in origin, most eminently treatable, and
potentially most disruptive in penal detention." The study
also suggests that a result of eliminating the volitional
prong would be a significantly higher number of split
opinions in the State's evaluation report to the court,
which would most likely result in more contested cases and
more psychiatric testimony at trials.

The Task Force found that in all jurisdictions, regardless
of the substance of the insanity defense, the State
hospital's evaluation report had the highest correlation to
the outcome of a trial involving the test for criminal
responsibility and was the single most important
determinative factor in the outcome. Given this high
correlation, the test is most important for the scope of
evaluation it provides to the professional examination.

12-109. NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE -- PLEA AND VERDICT.

(A) TIME AND MANNER OF PLEADING.

(1)   IF A DEFENDANT INTENDS TO RELY ON A PLEA OF NOT
CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE, THE DEFENDANT OR DEFENSE COUNSEL SHALL
FILE A WRITTEN PLEA ALLEGING, IN SUBSTANCE, THAT WHEN THE ALLEGED
CRIME WAS COMMITTED, THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE
BY REASON OF INSANITY UNDER THE TEST FOR CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
IN § 12-108 OF THIS TITLE.

(2)  A WRITTEN PLEA OF NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE BY
REASON OF INSANITY SHALL BE FILED AT THE TIME PROVIDED FOR
INITIAL PLEADING, UNLESS, FOR GOOD CAUSE SHOWN, THE COURT ALLOWS
THE PLEA TO BE FILED LATER.