Smith v. State

This appeal turns upon a close examination of a single word — the past participle “premeditated.” It is a term of art which once had (and may or may not still have) legal significance. We will ask three independent questions about that significance, a negative answer to any one of which will be fatal to the appellant’s present claim:(1) Is the character of a murderous intent as “premeditated” a necessary element of the crime itself or is it simply, for purposes of grading punishment, an aggravating factor of a crime otherwise defined?;(2) Does the participle “premeditated” carry any unique,…