Opinion ID: 241507
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Definition of Insanity in Other Circuits.

Text: 13 In addition, the only other Circuit which has had an opportunity to consider this question since the Durham decision, the Fifth Circuit, shares our belief that we are not free to revise the law of criminal responsibility even if we were disposed to do so. Howard v. United States, 5 Cir., 232 F.2d 274, 275. 14 In light of the ever increasing outcry for modification of the conventional rules of criminal responsibility, perhaps it would be in order to observe the structure of the Federal judiciary system. The Court of Appeals is the intermediate court in the Federal judicial hierarchy; the Supreme Court the court of last resort. When the Supreme Court speaks, its voice is that of the ultimate judicial authority. We are bound to heed its pronouncements. At times its voice has not been heard, either because the question presented below is novel, or because the Supreme Court, in its wisdom, did not choose to decide the matter previously. Occasionally, the sound is merely suggestive; not compelling, but advising; and then there are the instances in which the Court speaks loudly and clearly. In these situations we must follow its command. This is such a case. 15 The question arises, how then, if the Supreme Court meant in the Davis and subsequent cases what the Fifth and this Circuit believe it meant, could Durham have been born? One answer lies in the unique status held by the courts of the District of Columbia as compared with other Federal courts. The Courts of the District of Columbia are possessed of far greater autonomy in the decisionmaking process than are courts in other circuits. This point is forcefully and dramatically borne out by the Fisher case, supra. (Note 8.) On appeal from a conviction of murder for which a sentence of death was imposed, the defendant urged the Supreme Court to declare that 'mental weakness, short of (that necessary to constitute) legal insanity', 328 U.S at page 473, 66 S.Ct. at page 1323, be a relevant factor in determining whether an accused is guilty of murder in the first degree, (a crime in which premeditation and deliberation are essential elements) or murder in the second degree. The Supreme Court, conscious that a man's life was at stake, expressly declined to rule on the merits of the contention, stating: 16 'We express no opinion upon whether the theory for which petitioner contends should or should not be made the law of the District of Columbia.    17 'Matters relating to law enforcement in the District are entrusted to the courts of the District. Our policy is not to interfere with the local rules of law which they fashion, save in exceptional situations where egregious error has been committed. 18 'Where the choice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia in local matters between conflicting legal conclusions seems nicely balanced, we do not interfere. The Policy of deferring to the District's courts on local law matters is reinforced here by the fact that the local law now challenged is long established and deeply rooted in the District.' 328 U.S. at pages 476-477, 66 S.Ct. at page 1325. 19 The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was thus at liberty to promulgate a different rule of criminal responsibility than that approved by the Supreme Court in prior decisions. We do not have such authority. 20