(A) NOTICE BY DEFENDANT
(1) Notice of Defense of Insanity or Mental
Infirmity
A defendant who intends to offer at trial the defense of
insanity or mental infirmity shall file with the clerk of courts not later than
the time required for filing an omnibus pretrial motion provided in Rule 579 a
notice of the intention to offer the defense of insanity or mental infirmity,
and shall serve a copy of the notice and a certificate of service on the
attorney for the Commonwealth.
(a) The
notice and certificate shall be signed by the attorney for the defendant, or
the defendant if unrepresented.
(b)
The notice shall contain specific available information as to the nature and
extent of the alleged insanity or mental infirmity, the period of time that the
defendant allegedly suffered from such insanity or mental infirmity, and the
names and addresses of witnesses, expert or otherwise, whom the defendant
intends to call to establish such defense.
(2) Notice of Expert Evidence of Mental
Condition
Except as provided in Rule 841, a defendant who intends to
introduce expert evidence relating to a mental disease or defect or any other
mental condition of the defendant bearing (1) on the issue of guilt, or (2) in
a capital case, on the issue of punishment, shall file with the clerk of courts
not later than the time required for filing an omnibus pretrial motion provided
in Rule 579 a notice of the intention to offer this expert evidence, and shall
serve a copy of the notice and a certificate of service on the attorney for the
Commonwealth.
(a) The notice and
certificate shall be signed by the attorney for the defendant, or the defendant
if unrepresented.
(b) The notice
shall contain specific available information as to the nature and extent of the
alleged mental disease or defect or any other mental condition, the period of
time that the defendant allegedly suffered from such mental disease or defect
or any other mental condition, and the names and addresses of the expert
witness(es) whose evidence the defendant intends to introduce.
(B) FAILURE TO FILE
NOTICE
(1) If the defendant fails to file and
serve a notice of insanity or mental infirmity defense, or a notice of expert
evidence of a mental condition as required by this rule, the court may exclude
entirely any evidence offered by the defendant for the purpose of proving the
defense, except testimony by the defendant, may grant a continuance to enable
the Commonwealth to investigate such evidence, or may make any other order as
the interests of justice require.
(2) If the defendant omits a witness from the
notice of insanity or mental infirmity defense or a notice of expert evidence
of a mental condition, the court at trial may exclude the testimony of the
omitted witness, may grant a continuance to enable the Commonwealth to
investigate such evidence, may grant a continuance to enable the Commonwealth
to investigate the witness, or may make any other order as the interests of
justice require.
(C)
RECIPROCAL NOTICE OF WITNESSES
Within 10 days after receipt of the defendant's notice of the
insanity or mental infirmity defense, or notice of expert evidence of a mental
condition, or within such other time as allowed by the court upon cause shown,
the attorney for the Commonwealth shall file and serve upon defendant's
attorney, or the defendant if unrepresented, written notice of the names and
addresses of all witnesses the attorney for the Commonwealth intends to call to
disprove or discredit the defendant's claim of insanity or mental infirmity, or
mental disease, defect, or other mental condition.
(D) FAILURE TO SUPPLY RECIPROCAL NOTICE
(1) If the attorney for the Commonwealth
fails to file and serve a list of its witnesses as required by this rule, the
court may exclude any evidence offered by the Commonwealth for the purpose of
disproving the insanity or mental infirmity defense, may grant a continuance to
enable the defense to investigate such evidence, or may make such other order
as the interests of justice require.
(2) If the attorney for the Commonwealth
omits a witness from the list of its witnesses required by this rule, the court
at trial may exclude the testimony of the omitted witness, may grant a
continuance to enable the defense to investigate the witness, or may make such
other order as the interests of justice require.
(E) CONTINUING DUTY TO DISCLOSE
If prior to or during trial a party learns of an additional
witness whose identity, if known, should have been included in the notice
furnished under paragraphs (A) or (C), the party shall promptly notify the
other party's attorney, or if unrepresented, the other party, of the existence
and identity of such additional witness.
(F) FAILURE TO CALL WITNESSES
No adverse inference may be drawn against the defendant, nor
may any comment be made concerning the defendant's failure to call available
witnesses with regard to the insanity or mental infirmity defense, when such
witnesses have been prevented from testifying by reason of this rule, unless
the defendant or the defendant's attorney shall attempt to explain such failure
to the jury.
Notes
The provisions
of this Rule 568 adopted January 27, 2006, effective
8/1/2006, 36 Pa.B. 694; amended
July 31, 2013, effective 10/1/2013, 43 Pa.B. 4715; amended January 4,
2022, effective 7/1/2022, 52
Pa.B. 346.
