NCJ Number
119346
Date Published
1989
Length
62 pages
Annotation
This compilation includes 60 condensed summaries of appellate cases in which battered women who killed their abusers challenged trial court conclusions by appeal.
Abstract
The summaries should be helpful to attorneys who must prepare cases for battered women who kill, and should be particularly useful in helping attorneys choose defense, trial, and appeal strategies. The sample of 60 cases is also intended to provide attorneys with immediate briefings on the intricacies and nuances of cases involving battered women who kill. The sample includes only some of the cases that have been tried and appealed; it does not represent a large number of battered women who plea bargained and never went to trial or battered women who went to trial but did not appeal. The cases should be useful to attorneys in filing and arguing motions and in briefs on such issues as the admissibility of battered women syndrome expert testimony, self-defense, insanity, and the admissibility of evidence on a victim's past violent acts.