Idaho v. Diaz
Annotate this CaseThe State challenged a district court’s order denying a motion to exclude expert testimony that defendant-respondent Ruben Diaz lacked the mens rea to commit aggravated battery because he suffered from a mental illness or defect that caused him to believe the victim was not a person but instead an alien being from another planet. The State charged Diaz with aggravated battery, use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime, and resisting and obstructing a police officer after he stabbed a man in a random attack. The State filed a motion in limine to exclude Diaz’s expert testimony, arguing Idaho Code section 18-207 barred expert testimony on evidence of a mental condition. The district court denied: (1) the motion in limine; (2) the State’s subsequent motion to reconsider; and (3) the State’s motion for a permissive appeal. The State then timely filed a motion for permissive appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court.
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