VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER 1 M/S

Common Law: M/S in which the death of the victim was the intended or contemplated result but was nonetheless mitigated MPC: M/S in which the victim was killed purposely or knowingly but was nonetheless mitigated

1. HEAT OF PASSION MANSLAUGHTER - concession to the predictably frail nature of mankind

Common Law: (1) Killing of a human being (2) During the heat of passion (3) Caused by legally adequate provocation sufficient to cause a reasonable person to act from passion rather than reason (4) Before a reasonable person would have cooled off and regained his reason. MPC: a homicide which would otherwise be murder is committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse. The reasonableness of such explanation or excuse shall be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the actor's situation under the circumstances as he believes them to be.

(a) killed in the heat of passion any intense or vehement emotional excitement of the kind prompting violent and aggressive action, such as rage, anger, hatred, furious resentment, fright, or terror some states require the SUDDEN heat of passion. Some states allow the passage of time b/t the provocation and rage if evidence shows proof that a temporarily remote provocative act affected the at the time of the homicide to the extent that it could be concluded the acted under extreme emotional distress. People v. White* (NY, 1992) passion any violent! intense! high wrought or enthusiastic emotion People v. Borchers(CA,1958) (b) caused by a legally adequate provocation legally adequate - provocation sufficient to cause a reasonable person to act from passion rather than reason Test for sufficiency of provocation is objective not subjective State v. Guebara (KS, 1985) Precludes consideration of the innate peculiarities of the individual : Cultural Background Vietnamese honor Reg. v. Ly* (1987 p200) ** Steffey Disagrees. When we decide using this reasonable person Std, if you dont impose the circumstances of the individual onto the scenario, you force the jury to impose THEIR standards and beliefs onto the scenario objective. Nobody lacks a cultural identity. Mental Health violent personality disorder State v. Guebara (KS, 1985) **MPC takes this into account by adding options in new elements for provocation - more room for battered spouse syndrome psychological ailments State v. Dumlao (HI, 1986) Difference between values and circumstances. I believe my mother-in-law is covering up my wifes incestuous affair circumstance to consider My husband hits me & Im afraid hell hit my kids. So next time he hit me, I strangled him to death w/ cord from toaster oven. circumstance to considered I believe women arent worth anything values not to be considered. 1

Difference b/t insanity test and mental disorder. Lacks ability to tell right from wrong insanity defense I think Im squeezing grapefruits for juice, but its my wifes brain. Most people dont fit this requirement. MPC wanted to make the process more subjective b/c it was so hard to meet this std. Adequate Provocation to mitigate murder to M/S: Mutual Combat b/t men or where husband kills wife or wifes paramour if 2 persons engage in mutual combat, the blows given by each are adequate provocation to the other; thus, if one kills another, the homicide may be reduced to voluntary m/s State v. Guebara (KS, 1985) Assault when the assault creates a reasonable belief that the is in imminent danger of losing his life or suffering great bodily harm may be sufficient State v. Guebara (KS, 1985) Adultery Most courts used to actually require you to walk in on the adultery "inding a spouse immediately before! during! or after an adulterous act is ade#uate provocation. People v. Chevalier (IL, 1989) Words usually not adequate Illegal Arrest from when citizens would arrest you, tie you to a tree, and wait for the warden to come Serious Injury to a Close Relative Liam Nielson daughter raped and killed Dad goes out & kills the bastards Repeated Provocation Over a Period of Time Repeated Humiliation. Some states allow the passage of time b/t the provocation and rage if evidence shows proof that a temporarily remote provocative act affected the at the time of the homicide to the extent that it could be concluded the acted under extreme emotional distress. People v. White* (NY, 1992)p200 $ was roused to a heat of passion by a series of events. She had a long, continued, provocatory conduct. People v. Borchers (CA, 1958) Inadequate Provocation to warrant a voluntary M/S instruction Mutual Combat - where wife kills husband Evidence of a violent drunken quarrel where was a woman killing her husband State v. Coop* (Kan p. 200) Evidence of previous abuse by husband on wife adequate provocation when she killed him after he initiated another assault. State v. Stafford*(KS) p200 Mere Words Mere words/gestures, however insulting enoughState v Buffington*(KS,1905) Can combine w/ evidence of assault adequate provocation Guebara Some cts allow both murder and M/S instruction and allow the jury to pick (good) others force the jury to acquit the murder charge before they are allowed to hear M/S argument (bad). This creates the scenario in People v. Ahlberg* (Ill, 1973 p202) where after being acquitted of murder, the appealed his M/S conviction claiming he had not actually walked in on the adulterers and, because mere words dont count, he was guilty of murder or nothing. The court had to rule that sometimes words can be enough. It then re-stated the rule in its next case b/c hard facts make bad law Verbal Relations of Marital Infidelity. 2

Admits to adultery and disparages s sexual abilities or flaunts sleeping w/ lover in marital bed People v. Chevalier (Ill, 1989) Homosexual Advances. in a bar Commonwealth v. Trolia (Mass, 1991)

(c) before a reasonable person would have cooled off and regained his reason. Traditional explanation is that heat of passion mitigates murder to M/S because malice is not fully present when passion replaces reason At common law, killing in the hot blood is presumed different from killing in cold blood which an acceptable justification for the displacement of reason.

HEAT OF PASSION CASES

State v. Guebara (KS, 1985) p199 good defs Violent & mentally unstable killed his ex-wife after she filled criminal charges against him. The state will not consider the innate peculiarities of a when deciding whether to give a M/S instruction. Charged with 1 murder and denied a M/S instruction. Much more evidence of premeditation than in Perez where premeditated while looking for a replacement knife. People v. Chevalier (IL, 1989) %n three consolidated cases! the husband &ills the wife after she admits to adultery Admitting to adultery and disparaging the s sexual abilities (Chevalier) or flaunting sleeping w/ lover in marital bed (Flores) Ct held that mere words are not ade#uate provocation ' have to be actual actions "inding a spouse immediately before! during! or after an adulterous act is ade#uate provocation. Unusually restrictive view Commonwealth v. Trolia (Mass, 1991) (he homose)ual victim made an unwanted se)ual pass at the $ and $ &illed him *eld that this was not ade#uate provocation because no +ury could find evidence that the provocation e)isted. People v. Borchers (CA, 1958) $ had a common law marriage with Dotty after meeting her at the ,oo. *e later found out that she had been paying a pimp to have se) with her. -fter Dotty tried to shoot herself and +ump out of a moving car! $ shot her in the bac& of the head . pistol whipped her. "ound that $ was roused to a heat of passion by a series of events. Dotty long, continued, provocatory conduct. Defined passion as/ -ny violent! intense! high wrought or enthusiastic emotion Words + a lot of other shit can be enough. (here0s no adultery! much less wal&ing in on it. (hey aren0t married. 1he called him chic&en 2 Chic&en 3ouie. 4rovocation can build over time. -ll elements are rela)ed. 5o *64. 5ot sudden. 5o adultery. Doesn0t fit into any of those categories. (hat list of categories sub+ect to change. 7illing a hoe is 891:: Steffeys Ruling: %n C-! &illing a prostitute that you pretended to marry is 891 as a matter of law! even if you shoot her in the bac& of the head! pistol whip her! and hide the body in the trun&. State v. Dumlao (HI, 1986) $ shot mother in law and endangered brother in law because he had a paranoid mental condition where he thought his wife was having an affair with them. ;)treme emotional or mental disturbance defines the provocation element/ (he individual has no mental disease or defect that rises to the level of insanity or diminished capacity 3

 **MPC takes this into account by adding options in new elements for provocation. (1) extreme mental or emotional disturbance that has a (2) reasonable explanation or excuse (by a person in the actors situation and under the circumstances in which the actor believes himself to be) This leaves more room for battered spouse syndrome Takes into acct psychological ailments