Also known as: provocations · provoke · provoked · heat of passion
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Words or conduct that would cause an ordinary person to lose self-control and act from sudden intense passion. The provocation must actually provoke the defendant. There must be no reasonable cooling-off period before the killing occurs.
Words or conduct that would cause an ordinary person to lose self-control and act from sudden intense passion. The provocation must actually provoke the defendant. There must be no reasonable cooling-off period before the killing occurs.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Conduct by the injured person that does not reduce compensatory damages but is considered when determining whether to award punitive damages and in what amount.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Conduct by the injured person that does not reduce compensatory damages but is considered when determining whether to award punitive damages and in what amount.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Phuong Pham returns home early and finds her spouse in bed with another person. She immediately grabs a nearby object and strikes the lover, causing fatal injuries. Because the discovery constitutes adequate provocation at common law, the killing is mitigated from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Priscilla Parks is struck without warning by a stranger during an argument. She immediately retaliates with lethal force before any cooling-off period elapses. Because the serious battery qualifies as adequate provocation at common law, the killing is mitigated from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Patricia Patel approaches an acquaintance with the purpose of provoking a fight and then claims self-defense when the acquaintance responds with force. Because she acted with the purpose of causing death or serious bodily harm and provoked the use of force in the same encounter, the self-defense claim is unavailable under the Model Penal Code.
Paul Peterson learns that a coworker has been spreading rumors about him. Weeks later he confronts the coworker, who responds with insulting words. Peterson kills the coworker. The mere words and the passage of time constitute legally inadequate provocation, so the killing remains murder rather than voluntary manslaughter.
Premier Manufacturing employees learn of an insulting remark made by a council member months earlier. At a public hearing they confront and kill the member. Because the wrong occurred long in the past, the provocation is legally inadequate and the killing remains murder rather than voluntary manslaughter.
The provocation must be adequate to arouse sudden passion in an ordinary person. The defendant must actually have been provoked. There must have been no reasonable time for passion to cool, and the defendant must not in fact have cooled off.
Supporting sources
Mere words, trivial battery, and provocation based on wrongs that occurred long in the past are legally inadequate and do not reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Supporting sources
A defendant who provokes the use of force with the purpose of causing death or serious bodily harm may not claim self-defense when force is used against him in the same encounter.
Supporting sources
Pablo Perez insults Philip Powell during an argument. Powell responds by punching Perez and breaking his jaw. Perez sues for battery. His compensatory damages are not reduced by the provocation, but the court may consider the provocation when deciding whether to award punitive damages and in what amount.
No. Provocation by the injured person does not diminish compensatory damages, although it may be considered when deciding whether to award punitive damages and in what amount.
Supporting sources
…silent. Common sense informs us to the contrary. While one may say that the response was "involuntary" in the sense the question provoked or was the occasion for the response and thus the defendant was induced to speak out when he might have remained silent if not arrested and not questioned, it is patently unsound to say the…