CA Legislators Consider Law Banning Gay-TG Panic Defense

[Carolyn Marie]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-spradley/end-the-gaytransgender-pa_b_5549946.html

This sounds like a really, really good bill. There have been some horrific examples of successful use of the panic defense.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest LizMarie]

The US Bar Association has already given directives to lawyers to stop using it, but that's not legally binding and it does continue to get used.

I think it's absurd to say "We'll let you off the hook for a murder because of your panic at seeing genitalia you didn't expect." Let's try that in some other rationalizations:

"We'll let you off the hook for a murder because of your panic at seeing a person of a race you didn't expect."

"We'll let you off the hook for a murder because of your panic at seeing a person of a sex you didn't expect."

"We'll let you off the hook for a murder because of your panic at seeing a person of a nationality you didn't expect."

Stupid, right? Yet there are murderers who still claim it, lawyers who still use it, and bigoted/ignorant jurors who still believe it.

Since the bar association itself considers such a defense unethical and since it really is absurd to excuse murder because someone is trans, I support this. If lawyers won't police themselves, then we'll have to police the lawyers.

[Ravin]

The thing is, the "panic defense" is based upon "adequate provocation." It's a way to downgrade second degree murder to manslaughter, not to get off entirely. The definition of "adequate provocation" is "conduct or circumstances sufficient to deprive a reasonable person of self-control."

A reasonable person does not lose self control at seeing someone's genitals, or to being told a person is trans, etc.

While the first ethical duty of a defense attorney is to do what is best for their client, other ethics do come to bear. Like refusing to hold up an irrational rage as something reasonable. There are other, better ways to pursue a person's defense. If they're willing to use the "panic defense" in my state, the best they're hoping for is a lesser charge, and in that case working out a plea deal would be more effective for their interests than putting that kind of nonsense in front of a jury.