The court upheld the acquittal, as the evidence presented a reasonable doubt about whether Parks acted voluntarily. Chief Justice
Antonio Lamer held that the trial judge was correct in his analysis of the evidence and his decision not to characterize sleepwalking as a mental disorder. La Forest, writing for L'Heureux-Dubé and Gonthier JJ., agreed with Lamer in the characterization of the evidence, but looked further into the public policy of the defence. La Forest noted that the defence of mental disorder provides for a criminal exception which must be weighed against the interest in public safety. The applicability of the defence must focus on the likelihood of recurrence. For a person to be exempt from criminal liability under the "disease of the mind" defence they must be a "continuing danger" to the public and the condition must be an "internal cause" that stems from the accused's emotional or psychological state. ==See also==