Law Weblog

R v Rowland [2003] CA

[Provocation – the second element is a matter for the jury]
D killed his wife with a carving knife following provocation.  He was depressed about their marital failure and her taunting him.

Held:  A “characteristic” of the accused for the second element in provocation is all a matter for the jury.

Referring to the second element as objective is not helpful.

“The reasonable man is  … best left lurking in the statutory undergrowth, lest his emergence should lead the jury down a false trail of reasoning en route to their verdict.”

The reasonable man would not normally be expected to be endowed with the characteristics of the defendant.

The reasonable man test is diminished once it is clear that the application of the objective test is to be regarded exclusively as a matter for the jury.

The Judicial Studies Board specimen direction is an appropriate one … self-induced intoxication is no excuse.

Guilty of manslaughter not murder