Under the common law volitional test for insanity, which statement correctly states the component of the defense?

Under the common law volitional test for insanity, which statement correctly states the component of the defense?

• A. The defendant lacks the ability to appreciate the criminality of the act
• B. The defendant lacks the wrongfulness of the act
• C. The defendant lacks the ability to control the actions
• D. The defendant lacks the ability to foresee the consequences

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that the volitional or irresistible-impulse test asks whether mental disease or defect prevented the person from controlling his actions. Under this common-law approach, insanity exists if the defendant cannot resist the impulse to commit the act, not merely if they understand right from wrong. That’s why the statement about lacking the ability to control the actions is the correct description: it captures the essence of the volitional standard—inability to restrain conduct due to a mental condition. By contrast, lacking the ability to appreciate the criminality of the act reflects the cognitive M’Naghten standard, not the volitional one; lacking the ability to foresee consequences and lacking wrongfulness don’t describe the specific incapacity the volitional test focuses on.

The key idea is that the volitional or irresistible-impulse test asks whether mental disease or defect prevented the person from controlling his actions. Under this common-law approach, insanity exists if the defendant cannot resist the impulse to commit the act, not merely if they understand right from wrong.

That’s why the statement about lacking the ability to control the actions is the correct description: it captures the essence of the volitional standard—inability to restrain conduct due to a mental condition. By contrast, lacking the ability to appreciate the criminality of the act reflects the cognitive M’Naghten standard, not the volitional one; lacking the ability to foresee consequences and lacking wrongfulness don’t describe the specific incapacity the volitional test focuses on.