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R v Burgess
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Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
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| Date decided | 27 March 1991 |
| Full case name | Regina v Burgess |
| Citations |
2 QB 92 |
| Judges sitting | Lord Lane CJ, Roch and Morland |
| Cases cited |
Reg. v. Kemp [1957] 1 Q.B. 399, 407 |
| Legislation cited | M'Naghten Rules (1843) 10 Cl. & Fin. 200 Trial of Lunatics Act 1883 |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent actions | None |
| Keywords | |
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sleepwalking, violence, parasomnia
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R v Burgess [1991] 2 QB 92 is a decision of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales that found sleepwalking as insane automatism. In a previous decision, Burgess was found not guilty by reason of insanity because his case fell under the M'Naghten Rules. Burgess appealed his previous verdict on the grounds he was not guilty due to non-insane automatism because he did not have the mens rea to make him guilty. However, the court ruled that sleepwalking was considered insane automatism and Burgess' appeal was denied.
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On June 2, 1988, Mr. Barry Burgess attacked his friend Miss Katrina Curtis. She had fallen asleep on a sofa and woke up when Burgess, while allegedly sleepwalking, hit her over the head with a bottle. He subsequently picked up a video tape recorder and hit her on the head with it, giving her cuts and bruises. He put his hands around her throat, and when she said, "I love you Bar," it appeared that he came to his senses, and he called for an ambulance.
On July 20, 1989, the Bristol Crown Court before Judge Sir Ian Lewis and a jury found Burgess not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of wounding with intent. He was ordered to be detained at a psychiatric hospital. Under section 12 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, Burgess appealed the decision.
The defendant brought in psychiatrist Dr. d’Orban and neuropsychiatrist Dr. Eames for medical evidence, and the prosecution called in neuropsychiatrist Dr. Fenwick. Dr. Fenwick contended that the incident was not sleepwalking, but perhaps a hysterical dissociative state.
The judge, Lord Lane said, "We accept of course that sleep is a normal condition, but the evidence in the instant case indicates that sleep walking, and particularly violence in sleep, is not normal."
It was found that the violent action was due to an internal, organic one, rather than an external cause. Thus, the appeal was subsequently denied.[1]
This case set the legal status of committing violence while sleepwalking a form of insanity.
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