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McNaughten Rules, the
     
McNaughten Rules, the, M'Naghten Rules, the
the rules in English law which say that, if it can be proved that someone did not know what they were doing when they carried out a crime or did not know that it was wrong, then they can plead insanity (=give madness as an excuse for their actions). The rules were established as a result of the case of Regina v. McNaughten in 1843.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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