The automatism defense is discussed briefly on page 14 of the current version of North Carolina Crimes. Because I’ve had a couple of questions about it, I thought I’d write about it in a little more detail. Automatism is the “absence of consciousness[, which] not only precludes the existence of any specific mental state, but also excludes the possibility of a voluntary act without which there can be no criminal liability.” State v. Fields, 324 N.C. 204 (1989). So automatism appears to be a complete defense to all crimes, presumably even the strict liability offenses discussed here. I know of only two exceptions to this rule. The first is felony murder. State v. Boggess, 195 N.C. App. 770 (2009) (the defendant kidnapped and killed the victim; the kidnapping was committed voluntarily; the defendant’s evidence suggested that he was in a dissociative state when he killed the victim; trial court’s refusal to instruct the jury on automatism with respect to the murder was proper; where the underlying felony is voluntary, automatism is not a defense to felony murder). The second is when “the crime charged can be committed recklessly or negligently and the defendant, knowing of his tendency to black out, put himself in a position where a manifestation of this tendency would be especially dangerous, such as driving an automobile alone.” N.C.P.I. – Crim. 302.10 n. 1. Generally, the “burden is on the defendant to establish the [automatism] defense to the satisfaction of the jury.” State v. Andrews, 154 N.C. App. [...]
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