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Committee adopts compromise change to guilty‑except‑for‑insanity standard; bill moves to floor
Summary
After stakeholder negotiation, the House Judiciary Committee adopted dash‑1 amendments to House Bill 2471 to clarify causation standards for the guilty‑except‑for‑insanity (GEI) defense and sent the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
The House Judiciary Committee on March 31 adopted a negotiated dash‑1 amendment to House Bill 2471 that clarifies the causation standard for the guilty‑except‑for‑insanity (GEI) defense and then moved the bill to the House floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
The amendment modifies ORS 161.295 (GEI standard) to require that, at the time of the conduct, the defendant lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of the conduct or to conform conduct to law, and that "but for" a qualifying mental disorder the person would have had such capacity. The language further requires a nonqualifying mental disorder not be the primary cause of the lack of capacity and that voluntary intoxication combined with mental disorders is not the cause — codifying precedent from State v. Paveriari and addressing questions raised in the Oregon Supreme Court’s Mizer series of cases.
Why it matters: The dash‑1 amendment is the product of negotiations between the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and certified forensic evaluators to craft language evaluators can apply in practice while preserving the GEI defense for qualifying mental disorders. Melissa Marrero (ODAA) and representatives of OCDLA placed the joint negotiation and its goals on the record.
Committee action: The committee adopted the dash‑1 amendment (roll call recorded) and then voted to refer HB 2471 as amended to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation (roll call recorded). Multiple members publicly noted the legislative intent record produced during the negotiation and thanked the stakeholders for collaborative work; the bill sponsor or committee member indicated they would carry the bill.
Text and intent: Testifiers clarified the amendment was intended to create a ‘‘but‑for’’ standard while ensuring a nonqualifying disorder (for example, personality disorders, substance dependence, or other nonqualifying diagnoses) cannot be the primary cause of incapacity. The amendment also codifies that voluntary intoxication combined with a mental disorder cannot be the basis for GEI, consistent with Paveriari precedent.
Votes: The transcript records recorded aye votes on both the amendment adoption and the subsequent motion to move the amended bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. (Roll call listings are in the committee record.)
