Johnson v. State

Theodore Johnson v. State of Maryland, No. 736, Sept. Term 2023. Opinion by Arthur, J. CRIMINAL LAW—LEGALLY ADEQUATE PROVOCATION The offense of murder may be reduced to manslaughter upon a finding that the defendant acted in the heat of passion, in response to adequate provocation, before there had been a reasonable opportunity for the passion to cool. In Maryland, adequate provocation includes mutual affray, assault and battery, resisting illegal arrest, and anything that has the natural tendency to produce passion in ordinary people. This case questioned the boundaries of this common-law…