People v. Austin
Defendant was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree after a jury trial, and her conviction was unanimously affirmed. She had been employed in a law firm and shot and killed a partner with whom she claimed to have had an affair, interposing an insanity defense. Testimony highlighted her intense relationships, pre-meditation (purchasing a handgun, making threats), and post-shooting statements indicating revenge. Expert forensic psychiatrists presented conflicting opinions on her mental state, with defense experts diagnosing paranoid schizophrenia and the prosecution's expert identifying personality disorders but affirming her awareness of her conduct. The jury found that the People disproved the insanity defense. Appellate challenges regarding the insanity instruction and prosecutor's summation were not preserved, and other contentions were deemed meritless.