Good Law | Bad Law

What is the insanity defense? How is it used and when? And, does the Constitution permit a state to abolish it?   Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Stephen Morse, of Penn’s Carey Law School, to discuss the insanity defense. The Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law, a Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, and the Associate Director of the Center for Neuroscience and Society at Penn, Professor Morse is one of the country’s leading experts on today’s topic, having recently co-authored an amicus brief for the United States Supreme Court in the case, Kahler v. Kansas. Today, Aaron and Stephen talk about this brief and more as they contemplate one of our country’s oldest legal quandaries.    In this episode, Stephen and Aaron aim to answer some of the most challenging questions surrounding the insanity defense. What is it really? And, what are the conditions? The two examine the question of intent and compet