State v. Leidholm explained

State v. Leidholm
Court:	North Dakota Supreme Court
Full Name:	State of North Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Janice Leidholm, Defendant and Appellant.
Judges:	Ralph J. Erickstad, Vernon R. Pederson, William Paulson, Gerald W. VandeWalle, Paul M. Sand
Number Of Judges:	5
Decision By:	VandeWalle
Concurring:	Erickstad, Pederson, Paulson, Sand

State v. Leidholm, Supreme Court of North Dakota, 334 N.W.2d 811 (1983), is a criminal law case distinguishing the subjective and objective standard of reasonableness in a case where a battered woman used self-protection as a defense.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Janice Leidholm had killed her husband near Washburn, North Dakota and claimed self defense. The case clarifies between the defenses of justification and excuse.^[1] The case overturned Janice Leidholm’s prior conviction regarding her husband’s death.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Criminal Law Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012, John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora Binder
2. The Meaning of Equality for Battered Woman Who Kill Men in Self-Defense, PL Crocker - Harvard Women's LJ, 1985
3. A Trend Emerges: A State Survey on the Admissibility of Expert Testimony concerning the Battered Woman Syndrome, ACL Coffee - J. Fam. L., 1986
4. Factors predicting verdicts in cases where battered women kill their husbands, Follingstad, Diane R.; Polek, Darlene S.; Hause, Elizabeth S.; Deaton, Lenne H.; Bulger, Michael W.; Conway, Zanthia D., Law and Human Behavior, Vol 13(3), Sep 1989, 253-269
5. Dubber, Markus, and Hörnle, Tatjana. Criminal Law: A Comparative Approach. United Kingdom, OUP Oxford, 2014. Page 445.