NCJ Number
112684
Journal
New York Law School Law Review Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (1987) Pages: 79-110
Date Published
1987
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This note examines leading court cases throughout the United States involving women who have killed their mates, claimed self-defense, and attempted to admit into evidence expert testimony on battered woman syndrome.
Abstract
The woman who kills her battering mate and claims self-defense must show the relevancy of expert testimony to her perceptions of imminent danger. Once this has been shown, the specific requirements governing the admissibility of expert testimony must be addressed. Courts react differently in each case, as they must, depending on the circumstances of the killing and the trial. Increasingly, evidence on battered woman syndrome is allowed to reach the jury. This may be due to a steady rise in the volume of scholarly literature which demonstrates a greater acceptance of the syndrome. Regardless of the reasoning used by the courts to allow or disallow the testimony, the battered woman syndrome is not a defense. It is highly relevant evidence, introduced by an expert, that may help a jury to understand that a woman's perception of imminent danger was reasonable under the circumstances. Evidence of the syndrome does not indicate insanity but establishes the existence of a battered woman's heightened sensitivity to danger. 186 footnotes.