Duncan lawyer wants return of insanity defense

Accused killer Joseph Edward Duncan’s mental state should be considered in his defense, a move that would overturn nearly a quarter-century of Idaho law, his lawyer argued in a motion filed Tuesday.

John Adams, Kootenai County chief public defender, asked the court to declare Idaho’s 1982 repeal of the insanity defense unconstitutional. Adams argued that the state treats mentally ill people differently under the law and that it disregards the wisdom of 46 other states, the federal government and at least 100 other nations.

“Idaho stands almost alone not only in the United States, but also in the modern civilized world in failing to recognize that mental illness is a fact of life that juries, as a matter of fundamental fairness and due process, should be allowed to consider when deciding culpability,” Adams wrote.

Montana, Utah and Kansas don’t allow insanity as a defense either.

Adams’ motion is not unexpected, said Tim Gresbeck, a fellow criminal defense lawyer and longtime colleague of Adams’.

“It’s been raised in just about every case where the murders are particularly bizarre,” he said, noting that such motions have been rejected just as regularly.

But Gresbeck praised Adams’ actions on behalf of Duncan, who is accused of killing and kidnapping members of a Wolf Lodge family.

“When the state is swinging at his client with a 100-pound hammer, John will swing back with all his might, even if he’s only given a 10-pound hammer,” Gresbeck said.

The former Idaho attorney general who was in office when the state abolished the insanity defense doubts Adams’ hammer will strike its mark. Dave Leroy, now a Boise lawyer in private practice, said the constitutionality of the law has been upheld in the state Supreme Court at least three times since 1991.

Idaho courts repealed the insanity defense in reaction to a flood of cases, “from homicide to traffic violations,” where insanity was used as a defense, Leroy said in a phone interview.

“Instead, we asked the jury to determine directly: Did he have the capacity and the ability to form intent?” Leroy said.

Adams didn’t return a call Tuesday seeking comment about his motion.

Gresbeck, a past president of the Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, also doubted the public defender would be successful in this instance.

“It’s highly likely his motion will be denied,” Gresbeck said. “But he’s doing the right thing.”