State v. Rumble

Citations

• 81 Kan. 16
• 105 P. 1
• 1909 Kan. LEXIS 297

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Evidence — Opinion—Insanity. Although the trial court has some discretion in determining whether a non-expert witness has had sufficient opportunity of' observation to render admissible his opinion of the mental condition of one whose sanity is in issue, it is error to refuse to allow him to state it, where it is shown to be based upon a fairly intimate acquaintance with the subject of the inquiry extending over several years.</p> <p>2. - Same. It is error to exclude such opinion of a witness upon the ground that a number of instances of peculiar and unusual conduct on the part of the subject of the inquiry to which he has testified do not in themselves justify an inference of insanity.</p> <p>3. Homicide — Intoxication of Defendant — Reduction of Offense. Drunkenness may reduce a homicide from murder to manslaughter if it is so extreme as to prevent the existence of an intention to kill.</p> <p>4. - Intoxication of Defendant — Exoneration. That drunkenness may have rendered one charged with a crime incapable of knowing the nature and quality of his act, or of distinguishing between right and wrong, does not constitute a defense.</p>