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# Durham rule

## noun

**:**a formerly used legal test under which a person was not judged responsible for a criminal act that was attributed to a mental disorder

## Word History

Etymology

Monte *Durham*, 20th century American litigant

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

## Dictionary Entries Near *Durham rule*

## Cite this Entry

“Durham rule.” *Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary*, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Durham%20rule. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

## Legal Definition

Durham rule

noun
Dur·ham rule

ˈdu̇r-əm-, ˈdər-

**:**a rule of criminal law used in some states that holds that in order to find a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity the defendant's criminal act must be the product of a mental disease or defect compare irresistible impulse test, m'naghten test, substantial capacity test

Etymology

from *Durham v. United States*, 214 F.2d 862 (1954), a case heard by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals that established the rule

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