Insanity Defense Claims Curbed by High Court in Murder Case (2)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday brushed back a Kansas inmate’s attempt to mount an insanity defense as he saw fit, and in the process potentially limited criminal defendants’ claims in other states, too.

The U.S. Constitution doesn’t require a state to adopt an insanity test that turns on a defendant’s ability to recognize that his crime was morally wrong, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for a 6-3 majority.

Justice Stephen Breyer dissented from the rejection of James Kahler’s due process argument, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.

Kahler faces the death penalty for the 2009 slaying ...