. List of Criminal and Civil Cases Reviewed
All cases in the book contain a detailed chronology of the behaviors that occurred during the alleged sleepwalking/NREM parasomnia episode. This is followed by an analysis of these behaviors based on reliable sleep science. Each identified behavior is examined as to whether its occurrence was consistent with what is known about sleepwalking neurophysiology and neuropathology. Both prosecution and defense arguments regarding the scientific evidence are reviewed in detail along with the legal arguments. This is done while remembering that scientific evidence is not the only evidence presented at trial.
All cases in the book contain a detailed chronology of the behaviors that occurred during the alleged sleepwalking/NREM parasomnia episode. This is followed by an analysis of these behaviors based on reliable sleep science. Each identified behavior is examined as to whether its occurrence was consistent with what is known about sleepwalking neurophysiology and neuropathology. Both prosecution and defense arguments regarding the scientific evidence are reviewed in detail along with the legal arguments. This is done while remembering that scientific evidence is not the only evidence presented at trial.
Sleepwalking defense cases without drugs or alcohol
AZ v Falater (1997): Phoenix, Arizona. 44 yrs. old S.F. stabs his wife of 20 yrs. 44 times in their backyard near the pool. He leaves the scene and is noted by a witness moving around inside his house. He later returns to the body, witness notes she is still moving. He systematically drags her to the pool, dumps her in and holds her head under water. He is charged with capital murder. Defense is an extended and complex episode of sleepwalking. He is convicted of murder.
R v Parks (1985): Ontario, Canada. JP falls asleep while watching TV. He drives 23 km from his house to his in-laws house after 1:30 AM. He stabs and beats his mother in law to death and critically wounds his father-in-law. His next memory after watching TV is looking down on his now deceased mother-in-law’s face. He has no memory of his actions. He calls the police. Severely cut himself. Patient is acquitted by reason of a non-insane automatism. Supreme Court of Canada found sleepwalking was not due to a mental defect.
R v Thomas (2010) Wales, U.K.: B.T. and his wife were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary by taking a trip along the western coastline of Wales in a small caravan (RV). During the night he choked his wife to death while claiming he had been defending her from an intruder. Prosecution expert found violence had occurred during a sleep terror. Charges were dropped. He was released without restriction.
R v Burgess (1989) U.K: BDB attacked female friend with bottle and VCR. He then attempted to choke her. Expert witnesses disagreed, with one finding for sleepwalking and the other for dissociative disorder. The court determined this to be the result of a sleepwalking based automatism. However, the court found sleepwalking to be consistent with an Insane Automatism. Remains controlling case in U.K. for sleepwalking defenses.
HM Advocate v Fraser (1878) Glasgow Scotland. SF was asleep in the same room as his wife and 18 month old son. He reported that he saw a wild beast come up through the floor and attack his son. He fought with the wild beast. He later learned he had instead picked up his son and smashed him against the wall, killing him. He was examined by several psychiatrists and found to have been “unconscious”. He was acquitted and released. First case in which “psychiatric” testimony essential and relied upon.
State v. Fain (1879) Kentucky USA; FF fatally shot an individual who was attempting to awaken him by lifting him up from chair. Convicted, but reversed on appeal due to the trial court’s decision to exclude expert evidence. First US appellate case to allow expert testimony on sleepwalking as part of defense.
Cases Using an Alcohol Triggered Sleepwalking Defense
R v Lowe (2005) Manchester, U.K. JL and his father went to the local pub and became very alcohol intoxicated. Later that night at his father’s house, JL beat his father to death. Defense and Prosecution experts wrote joint report stating that the severe alcohol intoxication of the defendant was a trigger for sleepwalking violence. The court found him not responsible for his actions. Committed to hospital, but released after 8 months.
R v Luedecke (2003) Toronto, Canada. JL while severely alcohol intoxicated sexually assaulted woman at party he did not know. Put on condom before assault. Defense expert testified alcohol triggered an episode of sexual behavior in sleep – a variant of sleepwalking. Acquitted by non-insane automatism. Crown Prosecution appealed. Court of appeals ruled all automatisms including sleepwalking were to be considered as insane automatisms for public policy purposes.
Heywood v. Finnegan, (1997) GTF arrested for drunk driving. Defense claimed alcohol had triggered an episode of sleep driving. Convicted. Appealed. High Court ruled that as the episode had started with voluntary intoxication, he could not rely on a sleepwalking defense.
Cases Employing a Drug Related Sleepwalking/Sleep Driving Defense
New Jersey v Connelly (2006) New Jersey, USA. MC arrested for DUI. Prior to FDA warning, took Ambien as prescribed but also drank alcohol earlier. Found by police in mall parking lot driving erratically. Defense claimed in court her behavior was involuntary as she could not have foreseen the risks of “sleep driving”. This defense no longer allowed in N.J.
Gibson v Sanofi-Aventus U.S. LLC (2009) Kentucky, USA. FG had a motor vehicle accident in which she struck a utility pole. She attributed this accident to the effects of Ambien. She filed a civil suit against the manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis in federal court. In this civil case experts testified that this was likely an Ambien related episode of sleep driving. They based expert testimony on the numerous published cases of Ambien related sleep driving and other bizarre behaviors. However, the federal court rejected this evidence as relying on anecdotal cases and as such not meeting the standards of scientific evidence required in Federal Courts.
AZ v Falater (1997): Phoenix, Arizona. 44 yrs. old S.F. stabs his wife of 20 yrs. 44 times in their backyard near the pool. He leaves the scene and is noted by a witness moving around inside his house. He later returns to the body, witness notes she is still moving. He systematically drags her to the pool, dumps her in and holds her head under water. He is charged with capital murder. Defense is an extended and complex episode of sleepwalking. He is convicted of murder.
R v Parks (1985): Ontario, Canada. JP falls asleep while watching TV. He drives 23 km from his house to his in-laws house after 1:30 AM. He stabs and beats his mother in law to death and critically wounds his father-in-law. His next memory after watching TV is looking down on his now deceased mother-in-law’s face. He has no memory of his actions. He calls the police. Severely cut himself. Patient is acquitted by reason of a non-insane automatism. Supreme Court of Canada found sleepwalking was not due to a mental defect.
R v Thomas (2010) Wales, U.K.: B.T. and his wife were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary by taking a trip along the western coastline of Wales in a small caravan (RV). During the night he choked his wife to death while claiming he had been defending her from an intruder. Prosecution expert found violence had occurred during a sleep terror. Charges were dropped. He was released without restriction.
R v Burgess (1989) U.K: BDB attacked female friend with bottle and VCR. He then attempted to choke her. Expert witnesses disagreed, with one finding for sleepwalking and the other for dissociative disorder. The court determined this to be the result of a sleepwalking based automatism. However, the court found sleepwalking to be consistent with an Insane Automatism. Remains controlling case in U.K. for sleepwalking defenses.
HM Advocate v Fraser (1878) Glasgow Scotland. SF was asleep in the same room as his wife and 18 month old son. He reported that he saw a wild beast come up through the floor and attack his son. He fought with the wild beast. He later learned he had instead picked up his son and smashed him against the wall, killing him. He was examined by several psychiatrists and found to have been “unconscious”. He was acquitted and released. First case in which “psychiatric” testimony essential and relied upon.
State v. Fain (1879) Kentucky USA; FF fatally shot an individual who was attempting to awaken him by lifting him up from chair. Convicted, but reversed on appeal due to the trial court’s decision to exclude expert evidence. First US appellate case to allow expert testimony on sleepwalking as part of defense.
Cases Using an Alcohol Triggered Sleepwalking Defense
R v Lowe (2005) Manchester, U.K. JL and his father went to the local pub and became very alcohol intoxicated. Later that night at his father’s house, JL beat his father to death. Defense and Prosecution experts wrote joint report stating that the severe alcohol intoxication of the defendant was a trigger for sleepwalking violence. The court found him not responsible for his actions. Committed to hospital, but released after 8 months.
R v Luedecke (2003) Toronto, Canada. JL while severely alcohol intoxicated sexually assaulted woman at party he did not know. Put on condom before assault. Defense expert testified alcohol triggered an episode of sexual behavior in sleep – a variant of sleepwalking. Acquitted by non-insane automatism. Crown Prosecution appealed. Court of appeals ruled all automatisms including sleepwalking were to be considered as insane automatisms for public policy purposes.
Heywood v. Finnegan, (1997) GTF arrested for drunk driving. Defense claimed alcohol had triggered an episode of sleep driving. Convicted. Appealed. High Court ruled that as the episode had started with voluntary intoxication, he could not rely on a sleepwalking defense.
Cases Employing a Drug Related Sleepwalking/Sleep Driving Defense
New Jersey v Connelly (2006) New Jersey, USA. MC arrested for DUI. Prior to FDA warning, took Ambien as prescribed but also drank alcohol earlier. Found by police in mall parking lot driving erratically. Defense claimed in court her behavior was involuntary as she could not have foreseen the risks of “sleep driving”. This defense no longer allowed in N.J.
Gibson v Sanofi-Aventus U.S. LLC (2009) Kentucky, USA. FG had a motor vehicle accident in which she struck a utility pole. She attributed this accident to the effects of Ambien. She filed a civil suit against the manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis in federal court. In this civil case experts testified that this was likely an Ambien related episode of sleep driving. They based expert testimony on the numerous published cases of Ambien related sleep driving and other bizarre behaviors. However, the federal court rejected this evidence as relying on anecdotal cases and as such not meeting the standards of scientific evidence required in Federal Courts.