The NCRMD Test Branches as Accepted in Canadian Case Law and Forensic Psychiatric Practice
| Test Branch | Nature and Quality | Wrongfulness |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | The defense involves the accused’s ability to link action to consequence; psychiatric symptoms must render the accused unable to appreciate the nature or quality of the act or omission.3 | The defense involves the accused’s knowledge of wrongfulness, which has been clarified as meaning both legally and morally wrong4,5; an accused must lack the capacity to know right and wrong in an abstract sense or lack the ability to apply the knowledge of wrongfulness in a rational way to the criminal act in question. |
| Example | If, while in a state of psychosis, an accused threw a newborn off of a balcony driven by the delusional belief that the baby was really an angel requiring help learning to fly, an NCRMD defense may be available. | If, during a manic episode, an accused shoots and kills a colleague based on the delusional belief that the colleague was going to imminently kill him, an NCRMD defense may be available. |