Legal Opinion
Ronald Francis Smart v. William D. Leeke, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections Attorney General of South Carolina
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Decided October 27, 1988No. 87-7737PublishedCited by 3 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
MURNAGHAN, Circuit Judge:
Here we are presented with a principle of law revisited. Ronald Francis Smart was tried for murder in a state court of South Carolina and was convicted and sentenced to death. While the conviction was affirmed by the South Carolina Supreme Court, the death sentence was vacated. Resentencing led to two consecutive terms of life imprisonment. The crime for which Smart had been charged was causing death wrongfully without legal excuse or justification.
Smart in his defense pleaded self-defense and introduced sufficient evidence to put self-defense in issue.
The case…
2Cases cited18 opinions
- Chapman v. CaliforniaSupreme Court of the United States · 1967
- In Re WINSHIPSupreme Court of the United States · 1970
- Mullaney v. WilburSupreme Court of the United States · 1975
- Patterson v. New YorkSupreme Court of the United States · 1977
- Rose v. ClarkSupreme Court of the United States · 1986
13 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by3 opinions
- Ronald Francis Smart v. William D. Leeke, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections Attorney General of South CarolinaCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1989
- Ronald Francis Smart v. William D. Leeke, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections Attorney General of South CarolinaCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1989
- Ronald Francis Smart v. William D. Leeke, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections Attorney General of South CarolinaCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · 1988