Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Excuses In Exile, Anders Kaye
Excuses In Exile, Anders Kaye
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Suppose that I have intentionally killed another person and that I have done so without any justification. At first glance, it appears that I am guilty of murder, a very serious crime. Since I am guilty of this very serious crime, the state may inflict a very serious punishment on me—at least many years in prison, if not my whole life or the death penalty. But suppose that one of the following is also true in my case: (A) At the time that I killed my victim, I suffered from a mental disease and, as a result, lacked the substantial …
Sticky Metaphors And The Persistence Of The Traditional Voluntary Manslaughter Doctrine, Elise J. Percy, Joseph L. Hoffman, Steven J. Sherman
Sticky Metaphors And The Persistence Of The Traditional Voluntary Manslaughter Doctrine, Elise J. Percy, Joseph L. Hoffman, Steven J. Sherman
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article begins with a curious puzzle: Why has the traditional voluntary manslaughter doctrine in criminal law-the so-called "heat of passion" defense to a charge of murder-proven so resistant to change, even in the face of more than a half-century of seemingly compelling empirical and normative arguments in favor of doctrinal reform? What could possibly account for the traditional doctrine's surprising resilience? In this Article, we propose a solution to this puzzle. The Article introduces a new conceptual theory about metaphor-the "sticky metaphor" theory-that highlights an important aspect of metaphorical language and metaphorical thought that has been almost completely overlooked …
The Values Of Interdisciplinarity In Homicide Law Reform, Robert Weisberg
The Values Of Interdisciplinarity In Homicide Law Reform, Robert Weisberg
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Professor Reid Fontaine's article, Adequate (Non)Provocation and Heat of Passion as Excuse Not Justification, makes a convincing case for treating heat of passion wholly as an excuse not a justification, as the only sensible way to comprehend its various forms. In doing so, Professor Fontaine stimulates further thinking about heat of passion doctrine, along two dimensions.
Unjustified: The Practical Irrelevance Of The Justification/Excuse Distinction, Gabriel J. Chin
Unjustified: The Practical Irrelevance Of The Justification/Excuse Distinction, Gabriel J. Chin
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
In recent decades, the distinction between justification and excuse defenses has been a favorite topic of theorists of philosophy and criminal law. Notwithstanding the impressive intellectual efforts devoted to the task, no single scholar or viewpoint appears to be on the verge of generating practical consensus about the concepts of justification and excuse, categorization of the defenses, or categorization of difficult individual cases. This Essay suggests that none of these goals can be usefully advanced through the justification/excuse distinction.
Misunderstanding Provocation, Samuel H. Pillsbury
Misunderstanding Provocation, Samuel H. Pillsbury
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Provocation is and always has been a compromise rule whose success depends on its ability to appeal to all ideological constituencies, and therefore will always-as long as it lasts-resist the final categorization that this question seeks. As long as provocation involves an inquiry into reasonableness, it will include considerations of justification. As long as it provides for mitigation of punishment based on the difficulty of resisting temptations to violence inspired by strong emotion, it will speak to considerations of excuse.
On Passion's Potential To Undermine Rationality: A Reply, Reid Griffith Fontaine
On Passion's Potential To Undermine Rationality: A Reply, Reid Griffith Fontaine
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Reply is organized into several sections. Following the Introduction, I respond to my six distinguished commentators. In Section II, I consider Professor Chin's concern that the distinction between justification and excuse bears no practical relevance for the criminal law. In Section III, I respond to Professor Baron's argument that reasonable mistake of fact is consistent with justification-a view, she observes, that is generally reflected in the criminal law. Building on the discussion of whether mistake and justification are compatible, Section IV addresses Professor Pillsbury's treatment of heat of passion as a hybrid defense that uniquely incorporates components of both …
The Irreducibly Normative Nature Of Provocation/Passion, Stephen J. Morse
The Irreducibly Normative Nature Of Provocation/Passion, Stephen J. Morse
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
I agree with Professor Fontaine that provocation/passion is best interpreted as a partial excuse, but the ground for my conclusion is normative and not analytic. Indeed, I fear that he has not made the analytic case in large part because he begs a question about failed justifications that has only a normative and not an analytic answer. This Essay first briefly provides my own understanding of provocation/ passion. In the course of doing so, I address Professor Fontaine's argument that provocation/passion should also be applied to people with provocation interpretational bias. I then turn to why Fontaine's case for …