The People of the State of Colorado v. Abel Gebre Laeke

Summary

The court held that a defendant has neither a statutory nor constitutional right to a jury trial on the merits and insanity defense when the defendant enters an NGRI plea and the prosecution concedes insanity at the time of the offense. It reasoned that the statutory amendments created a unitary procedure but did not create a new substantive jury-trial right, and that an NGRI judgment is an acquittal rather than a conviction. The court therefore reversed the court of appeals and remanded for proceedings consistent with its opinion.