Opinion ID: 1973139
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Exclusion of Testimony on Provocation

Text: The presiding justice excluded testimony from two witnesses. The first was offered to show the conditions at Sandra Flick's apartment, and the second to show that Sandra Flick had threatened to kill herself and the children before allowing Flick to have custody. Both facts were testified to by the defendant. The defense offered this evidence as relevant to the defendant's state of mind and, on appeal, argues that the evidence could be considered by the jury in determining adequate provocation. The presiding justice evidently determined that there was no sufficient probative relation between the proffered evidence and the issue of provocation under section 203. 17-A M.R.S.A. § 203 provides in part: 1. A person is guilty of manslaughter if he: ...... B. Causes the death of another human being under circumstances which would otherwise be murder except that the actor causes the death while under the influence of extreme anger or extreme fear brought about by adequate provocation. 2. For purposes of subsection 1, paragraph B, provocation is adequate if: ...... B. It is reasonable for the actor to react to the provocation with extreme anger or extreme fear, provided that evidence demonstrating only that the actor has a tendency towards extreme anger or extreme fear shall not be sufficient, in and of itself, to establish the reasonableness of his reaction. Reasonableness and adequacy of provocation under section 203 are conclusions of fact to be drawn by the trier of fact. In determining whether evidence of preceding events is relevant to adequacy of provocation, the presiding justice must first determine whether those events could be considered part of the provocation as a matter of law. Provocation under section 203 must be adequate to provoke a reaction of extreme anger or fear, which necessarily implies that the provocation must be immediate. Remote events cannot be a part of such provocation. In respect to the reasonableness of the actor's reaction of extreme anger or fear, preceding events may be relevant. However, as we said in State v. Kotsimpulos, Me., 411 A.2d 79, 81 (1980): Common sense suggests that one measures relevance in a continuum, and that at some stage evidence becomes so remote that its probative impact ... is reduced to zero. When the probative impact reaches zero, the evidence is simply not admissible under Rule 402; but prior to that point, the admission of the evidence may be weighed against other factors under Rule 403. Assuming the proffered evidence may have some relevance to reasonableness under section 203, it was nevertheless within the presiding justice's discretion to exclude the evidence under M.R.Evid. 403. Such a ruling will be reviewed only for abuse of discretion. State v. Kotsimpulos, supra . Here, the presiding justice reasonably could have found that the probative value was outweighed by the danger that the evidence would confuse the jury by suggesting that they consider the evidence as a form of justification or mitigation. There was no abuse of discretion in his decision to exclude the testimony.