What is the test for establishing that a homicide was committed "upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion"?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Sandley, C041002. (Cal. App. 2003):
To establish that a homicide was committed "upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion" ( 192, subd. (a)), there must be evidence that "the killer's reason was actually obscured as the result of a strong passion aroused by a 'provocation' sufficient to cause an '"ordinary [person] of average disposition . . . to act rashly or without due deliberation and reflection, and from this passion rather than from judgment."' [Citations.]" (People v. Breverman (1998) 19 Cal.4th 142, 163, 960 P.2d 1094.) Imperfect self-defense requires an actual belief in the necessity to defend against imminent peril to life or great
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