NCJ Number
90160
Date Published
1982
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Legislation accompanied by a supportive message by the President proposes the reform of the use of the insanity defense in Federal criminal cases, the admissibility of evidence when obtained by law enforcement authorities acting in good faith, and the specification of circumstances justifying Federal intervention in State criminal proceedings.
Abstract
First, the proposed legislation would limit the insanity defense so that only those defendants who did not have the mental state specified as an element of the alleged crime would escape responsibility for their acts. Second, the proposal would reform the exclusionary rule to prevent the suppression of evidence seized by an officer acting in the reasonable, good faith belief that his/her actions complied with law. This proposal eliminates application of the exclusionary rule in those cases where it is deemed clearly to have no deterrent effect on police violations of the law. Finally, the bill would reform Federal habeas corpus review of the State adjudications to ensure greater deference to full and fair State judicial proceedings and to limit the time within which habeas corpus proceedings may be initiated. This reform is expected to conserve scarce Federal and State judicial and prosecutorial resources. In addition to providing the text of the proposed legislation, the presentation also includes a section-by-section analysis.