Types of Mental Health Defenses to Sexual Assault Allegations
Any type of mental health condition or trauma can be used at trial in two ways. The first way is in the finding section of a trial (which is when you are deemed guilty or not guilty), and the second way is in the sentencing section, when an appropriate punishment is determined.
To use a mental health condition or trauma as a defense in the findings portion of a trial, the condition or trauma would have to effectively rise to the level of insanity. This means one of two things: that you have an inability to understand the court-martial process and participate meaningfully in your defense, or that at the time of the crime, you didn’t appreciate or have the mental capacity to understand that what you were doing was wrong.
Evidence of a mental health diagnosis, such as PTSD from combat trauma, could result in a lesser punishment. PTSD from combat trauma is certainly mitigating, meaning that it would lessen a punishment for a criminal offense like sexual assault.
However, it is very unlikely to establish that you were unable to understand the wrongfulness of your actions. The vast majority of people who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress still appreciate the wrongfulness of what they’re doing. For example, if you were to steal a candy bar from the store, you would know that doing so is wrong, even though you might be affected by or otherwise stricken with a mental health condition.
Should I Agree To Mental Evaluations To Prove PTSD Or Other Mental Illness As A Defense In My Military Sex Offense Case?
If your commander, a law enforcement agency, or prosecutor is asking you to submit to a mental health evaluation before trial, you ought to be talking to your defense attorney about what that means. This is because you can’t control how the government is going to interpret your mental evaluation and what they’re going to do with that information if they get it. You’re not required to submit to most mental health evaluations, and if you do, be sure to speak with your defense attorney first.
If your defense attorney is asking you to submit to a mental health evaluation prior to trial, then they’re doing so for a specific reason. Usually, the purpose is to develop information or evidence that’s going to help you in the process. Again, PTSD is not likely to be a defense in a military sexual offense case, but it could be used to help mitigate the case or lessen your punishment. At all times, it’s important to pay attention to who’s asking you to do the mental evaluation, and ensure that you consult with military defense counsel.
Best Way to Use Mental Health or PTSD in Your Defense
Although there are many ways to use a mental health or PTSD defense, the best results come when you can draw a connection between the trauma-event that gave rise to the PTSD or Mental Health issues. For example, that means showing that our client had some sort of serious mental health episode or PTSD flashback and was totally out of their mind at the time of the crime.
Our favorite and most used mental health defense, however, is to lessen the potential punishment IF our client is convicted. Juries (as opposed to judges) tend to be very understanding of an accused’s mental health condition, but the judges do not. Use that mental health condition to earn sympathies of the jury and potentially a favorable outcome.
