Rhode Island Lawyer, David Slepkow

It would appear that the defense intends to argue lack of "intent" to commit criminal acts for the man accused of murder and many more counts of assault with a deadly weapon and hit and run related to the Venice Beach incident.  While it is true that most of the crimes charged (including the murder charge) do require a showing of an intent on the part of the accused to commit the act, it is always difficult to try to defend these cases on the basis of "mental incapacity."  California uses the so-called M'Naghten Rule standard for this claim which puts the burden on the defense to prove that the defendant was so mentally deranged at the time of the alleged incident that they either did not know the nature of their actions or that such actions were wrong.  The fact that the defendant in this case made very assertive actions such as pulling around a clear and visible barrier between motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic, will cut against this claim, in my opinion.

For more information on auto accident claims and California laws related to car accidents go to: 

http://www.victimslawyer.com/car-accidents/