Legal Question in Criminal Law in Ohio

Insanity Plea - Good or Bad?

I have a friend who had a breakdown about a year ago and took some videos of his seventeen year old stepdaughter in the bathroom without her knowlege. His wife found them and turned them in so he is facing a 5th degree felony charge. This only went on for a month and he snapped out of it but didn't destroy the videos. He is middle aged and has nothing else on his record but he's been charged with 40 counts because there were 40 incidents on the video. His lawyer suggested pleading insanity but is that a good idea? How likely is it that he will serve jail time? I should probably add that he has been a policeman for 35 years and was at the time of his arrest. Does this make a difference?


Asked on 9/02/03, 7:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Insanity Plea - Good or Bad?

Insanity pleas are rarely successful, and he would need very strong psychiatric evidence to back up his claim. A nervous breakdown is not the equivalent of insanity, which generally requires an actual inability to distinguish right from wrong (there are different tests in different states and I don't know what Ohio requires).

Still, for tactical reasons it might be a worthwhile plea to enter. Since he has a lawyer, that lawyer is the one he should be listening to.

Being a police officer makes no difference at all as far as the legal analysis is concerned, but it may lead some jurors to be more lenient. Then again, some jurors might be more offended by a cop doing these things than by a civillian, so he could find tat his background works against him. This will depend on his jury, and selecting jurors who are likely to be sympathetic will be an important skill for his lawyer to have if the case goes to trial.

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Answered on 9/02/03, 7:48 pm


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