AK · jury_instructions
Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction 1.43D
DEFENSE OF DIMINSHED CAPACITY
If you find that the state has not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant ________(insert requisite culpable mental state(s))________,
but you find that the state has proved the other elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must decide whether the defendant is "not guilty by reason of diminished capacity" or is simply "not guilty."
For you to find that the defendant is "not guilty by reason of diminished capacity," you must find that the following statements are proven beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) when the defendant engaged in the prohibited conduct, the defendant was suffering from a mental disease or defect, and
(2) this mental disease or defect was a substantial factor in preventing the defendant from
(insert requisite culpable mental state(s)).
If you find that statements (1) and (2) are proven beyond a reasonable doubt1, then you must return a verdict of "not guilty by reason of diminished capacity" for the offense. You must then proceed to consider whether the defendant is guilty of any lesser included offense.
If you do not find that statements (1) and (2) are proven beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must return a verdict of "not guilty" for this offense. You must then proceed to consider whether the defendant is guilty of any lesser included offense.
History
Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions 1.43D, dated Revised 2016. Prepared by the Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee; published by the Alaska Court System. The Alaska Court System states that these instructions "have not been approved or promulgated by any court or the Alaska Bar Association." Printed in the committee's instruction packet 1.43 (Defense of Diminished Capacity).
Provenance
- Source
- courts.alaska.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
194da278815f44f612920c058af090ef02e8dd67fd48dd8e836db0e3caeb9a8f
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