Mission Statement
Though the Albert Jackson Tirrell Case of 1846 is recognized as the first criminal case to successfully utilize the “sleepwalking” defense in an American court of law, much remains to be understood about the spectrum of overt extreme behaviors attributed to Parasomnias, such as REM Behavior Disorder (RBD). As clinical research to further characterize such bizarre sleep-related behaviors would be largely impractical, if not ethically challenged, the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center (MRSDC) at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis has decided to become a resource to the international legal community to serve as a medico-legal consultant to review criminal and/or civil cases possibly involving a sleep disorder. As such, we have formally developed the first ever Sleep Forensics Unit.
Despite anticipating that truly legitimate "sleepwalking" cases in a court of law to be exceedingly rare, our initial modus operandi is an ethological behaviorist research approach which is based upon the premise that the most extremely violent expressions of parasomnias resulting in either serious personal or public misfortune would ultimately find its way to the judicial system for resolution. Our involvement in the last few years as a resource to the legal community-at-large has allowed us to review cases for possible extreme Parasomnias to which no one would otherwise have had access. However, we learned there was an additional need as a Sleep Forensics consultant to review misfortunes possibly associated with cognitive impairment or altered levels of awareness related to sleep deprivation (i.e. "fall asleep car crashes") and/or the toxic influences of pharmaceutical agents (i.e. "Ambien/Stilnox Zombies").
The MRSDC has long been recognized as an international leader in Parasomnias through both advances in research and in education through public awareness. Our unique position along with the recent development of the Sleep Forensics Unit will allow us to continue this mission by capturing,assessing, and categorizing human behaviors arising from sleep...behaviors that had otherwise previously defied reasonable explanation. Ideally, we believe that over time certain behaviors will manifest with characteristic features, similar to "fixed action patterns", which ultimately will help elucidate underlying neurophysiological pathways and mechanisms of altered levels of consciousness and awareness.
Sleep Forensics
Definition: the application of principles and tools concerning Somnology and Sleep Medicine, that have been widely accepted under international peer-review, to the investigation in understanding unusual, irrational, and/or bizarre human behaviors which is to undergo further scrutiny in a conflict resolution legal atmosphere and/or courtroom.
SFA and the MRSDC are proud to announce that it has a formal policy that strictly forbids any of its associates and staff from engaging in any activities associated with speakers bureaus or as an independent contractor with either the pharmaceutical or technical industries.