| R v Burgess | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
| Full case name | Regina v. Barry Douglas Burgess |
| Decided | 27 March 1991 |
| Citations |
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| Cases cited | Reg. v. Kemp [1957] 1 Q.B. 399, 407 Bratty v Attorney-General for Northern Ireland [1963] AC 386 |
| Legislation cited | Trial of Lunatics Act 1883 |
| Case history | |
| Prior actions | Insanity found (and thus not guilty of offence) at Bristol Crown Court, before Judge Sir Ian Lewis and a jury (not reported) |
| Subsequent action | None |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | Lord Lane CJ, Roch J and Morland J |
| Keywords | |
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R v Burgess [1991] 2 QB 92 was an appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales that adjudged sleepwalking entailing violence from an internal, organic cause amounts to insane automatism. At first instance Burgess was likewise found not guilty by reason of insanity as his case fell under the M'Naghten Rules. This would entail a possible stigma and a treatment plan. His defence team appealed arguing such automatism was no form of 'insanity' but fell within the class of automatism such as a spiked drink which could show a complete lack of mens rea, outside the realms of normal mental health, to make him guilty. The court ruled that violent sleepwalking with no external triggers was considered insane automatism. Thus the appeal was heard, argued, the law and its consequences judicially considered. The appeal was dismissed.