Girouard v. State case brief summary
321 Md. 532
SYNOPSIS: Defendant challenged his conviction from the Montgomery County Circuit Court (Maryland), which was affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals (Maryland), for second degree murder, asking the court to consider whether the provocation sufficient to mitigate murder to manslaughter should be decided by the factfinder on a case-by-case basis and, specifically, whether words alone were adequate provocation under the circumstances.
OVERVIEW:
-The ultimate issue in this case was whether the provocation of defendant's wife was enough in the eyes of the law so that defendant's murder charge should have been mitigated to voluntary manslaughter. Specifically, the issue was whether the wife's taunting words were enough so that a reasonable man would be sufficiently infuriated to strike out in hot-blooded blind passion and kill her. The trial judge decided that although the wife's provocation was needless, it was not adequate to mitigate second degree murder to voluntary manslaughter and, on review, the court agreed.
HOLDING:
The court found that the provocation, no matter how insulting, was certainly not enough to justify a reasonable man stabbing his provoker 19 times.
ANALYSIS:
The court acknowledged that defendant had mental problems, but reiterated that the standard was one of reasonableness and should not focus on the peculiar frailties of defendant. Asserting that domestic arguments easily escalate into furious fights, the court held that there was no reason to favor those who found the murder of an offending spouse to be the easiest way to end a dispute. The judgment was affirmed.
OUTCOME: The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the facts of this case did not warrant broadening the recognized categories of adequate provocation to mitigate murder to manslaughter.
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321 Md. 532
SYNOPSIS: Defendant challenged his conviction from the Montgomery County Circuit Court (Maryland), which was affirmed by the Court of Special Appeals (Maryland), for second degree murder, asking the court to consider whether the provocation sufficient to mitigate murder to manslaughter should be decided by the factfinder on a case-by-case basis and, specifically, whether words alone were adequate provocation under the circumstances.
OVERVIEW:
-The ultimate issue in this case was whether the provocation of defendant's wife was enough in the eyes of the law so that defendant's murder charge should have been mitigated to voluntary manslaughter. Specifically, the issue was whether the wife's taunting words were enough so that a reasonable man would be sufficiently infuriated to strike out in hot-blooded blind passion and kill her. The trial judge decided that although the wife's provocation was needless, it was not adequate to mitigate second degree murder to voluntary manslaughter and, on review, the court agreed.
HOLDING:
The court found that the provocation, no matter how insulting, was certainly not enough to justify a reasonable man stabbing his provoker 19 times.
ANALYSIS:
The court acknowledged that defendant had mental problems, but reiterated that the standard was one of reasonableness and should not focus on the peculiar frailties of defendant. Asserting that domestic arguments easily escalate into furious fights, the court held that there was no reason to favor those who found the murder of an offending spouse to be the easiest way to end a dispute. The judgment was affirmed.
OUTCOME: The court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that the facts of this case did not warrant broadening the recognized categories of adequate provocation to mitigate murder to manslaughter.
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Interested in learning how to get the top grades in your law school classes? Want to learn how to study smarter than your competition? Interested in transferring to a high ranked school?
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