[BillCA]

Peetza,

They probably don't. But "diminished capacity" can be helpful when finer points of law are debated -- such as whether you were justified in shooting the intruder heading for the kitchen door. In a "diminished capacity" you may have believed he was going for a weapon -- kitchen knives -- instead of the back door. But in this case, it doesn't really apply unless the husband was flying high himself.

Courts have also ruled that one can suffer from "diminished capacity" after a fist fight if the person lost conciousness, suffered repeated blows to the head, has great pain or other incapacitating injuries. In such cases, the rational mind has a diminished capacity to control our actions. Something anyone who has suffered a debilitating backache, toothache or migraine can tell you about.