| People v. Berry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Decided December 8, 1976 | |
| Full case name | The People, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Albert Joseph Berry, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Citation(s) | 18 Cal.3d 509; 556 P.2d 777; 134 Cal. Rptr. 415 |
| Holding | |
| The defendant received adequate provocation to have committed a crime of passion. | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Justice | Donald Wright |
| Associate Justices | Marshall F. McComb, Mathew Tobriner, Stanley Mosk, Raymond L. Sullivan, William P. Clark Jr., Frank K. Richardson |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Sullivan, joined by Wright, McComb, Tobriner, Mosk, Clark, Richardson |
People v. Berry[1] is a voluntary manslaughter case that is widely taught in American law schools for the appellate court's unusual interpretation of heat of passion doctrine. Although the defendant had time to "cool down" between his wife's verbal admission of infidelity and the killing, the California Supreme Court held that the provocation in this case was adequate to reduce a murder charge to manslaughter. The lower court had relied on the traditional definition of "adequate provocation" in its jury instructions. The California Supreme Court reversed Berry's murder conviction, while affirming Berry's conviction for assault using deadly force.
The case has also been discussed or mentioned in more than forty separate academic journal articles relating to murder, female victims of domestic violence, and rape.[2] More than 160 court decisions in California have cited, mentioned, or discussed this opinion.[3]
- ^ 18 Cal.3d 509, 134 Cal.Rptr. 415, 556 P.2d 777 (Cal. 1976)
- ^ Redefining Violence: Some Thoughts About Justice, Power, Peace, Respect, And The Fabric Of Our Social Experience, 9 Am. U.J. Gender Soc. Pol'y & L. 305, 393 (2001); A Heat Of Passion Offense: Emotions And Bias In "Trans Panic" Mitigation Claims, 25 B.C. Third World L.J. 499, 524 (2005); Rape, Violence, And Women's Autonomy, 69 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 359, 388 (1993); Restoring Hope Or Tolerating Abuse? Responses To Domestic Violence Against Immigrant Women, 9 Geo. Immigr. L.J. 263, 290 (1995); Notes From The Underground: Battered Women, The State, And Conceptions Of Accountability, 23 Harv. Women's L.J. 133, 172 (2000); Equality, Objectivity, And Neutrality, 103 Mich. L. Rev. 1043, 1080 (2005); Legal Images Of Battered Women: Redefining The Issue Of Separation, 90 Mich. L. Rev. 1, 94+ (1991); Achilles Fuming, Odysseus Stewing, And Hamlet Brooding: On The Story Of The Murder/Manslaughter Distinction, 74 Neb. L. Rev. 742, 803 (1995); The Cultural Defense And The Problem Of Cultural Preemption: A Framework For Analysis, 27 N.M. L. Rev. 101, 139 (1997); A Matter Of Prostitution: Becoming Respectable, 74 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1220, 1303 (1999); The Admissibility Of Expert Testimony Of Battered Wife Syndrome: An Evidentiary Analysis, 77 Nw. U. L. Rev. 348, 373 (1982); Changing Paradigms In The Law Of Homicide, 62 Ohio St. L.J. 1007, 1076 (2001); The Admissibility Of Prior Acts Of Domestic Violence: Simpson And Beyond, 69 S. Cal. L. Rev. 1463, 1517 (1996); Heat Of Passion And Wife Killing: Men Who Batter/Men Who Kill, 2 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Women's Stud. 71, 77 (1992); Diminished Capacity In California: Premature Reports Of Its Demise, 3 Stan. L. & Pol'y Rev. 216, 224 (1991); Interpretive Construction In The Substantive Criminal Law, 33 Stan. L. Rev. 591, 673+ (1981); Provoked Reason In Men And Women: Heat-Of-Passion Manslaughter And Imperfect Self-Defense, 33 UCLA L. Rev. 1679, 1735+ (1986)
- ^ See e.g., Birdwell v. Roe, 95 Fed.Appx. 866, 868+ (9th Cir.(Cal.) Apr 14, 2004); People v. Cole, 17 Cal.Rptr.3d 532, 580+, 95 P.3d 811, 851, (Cal. Aug 16, 2004); People v. Lujan, 112 Cal.Rptr.2d 769, 785+, 92 Cal.App.4th 1389, 1410 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. Oct 23, 2001); People v. Brooks, 230 Cal.Rptr. 86, 88, 185 Cal.App.3d 687, 693 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. Sep 18, 1986); People v. Steele, 120 Cal.Rptr.2d 432, 449+, 47 P.3d 225, 239 (Cal. May 30, 2002); People v. Breverman, 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 870, 883+, 960 P.2d 1094, 1106 (Cal. Aug 31, 1998); People v. Wharton, 280 Cal.Rptr. 631, 659+, 809 P.2d 290, 318, 53 Cal.3d 522, 569+ (Cal. Apr 29, 1991); People v. Wickersham, 185 Cal.Rptr. 436, 446, 650 P.2d 311, 321, 32 Cal.3d 307, 326+ (Cal. Sep 02, 1982)