Durham Rule - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition durham-rule

Durham rule

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[from Durham v. United States, 214 F.2d 862 (1954), a case heard by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that established the rule]
: a rule of criminal law used in some states that holds that in order to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity the defendant's criminal act must be the product of a mental disease or defect compare irresistible impulse test, m'naghten test, substantial capacity test