heat of passion

heat of passion
heat of pas·sion: an agitated state of mind (as anger or terror) prompted by provocation sufficient to overcome the ability of a reasonable person to reflect on and control his or her actions – called also heat of blood, heat of passion on sudden provocation, hot blood, sudden heat, sudden heat of passion, sudden passion; see also manslaughter compare cold blood, cool state of blood

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

heat of passion
n.
The mental and emotional state caused by sudden anger, hatred, terror, or extreme excitement that provokes someone to commit a crime.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


heat of passion
A mitigating circumstance that may be raised by an accused criminal, claiming to have been in an uncontrollable rage, terror, or fury at the time of the alleged crime, especially one provoked by the victim.
Category: Criminal Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


heat of passion
adj. characterization of acts done while actor is in state of extreme stress or explosive anger.
See also voluntary manslaughter.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary. . 2000.


heat of passion
A phrase used in criminal law to describe an intensely emotional state of mind induced by a type of provocation that would cause a reasonable person to act on impulse or without reflection.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


heat of passion
A phrase used in criminal law to describe an intensely emotional state of mind induced by a type of provocation that would cause a reasonable person to act on impulse or without reflection.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

heat of passion
n.
   in a criminal case, when the accused was in an uncontrollable rage at the time of commission of the alleged crime. If so, it may reduce the charge, indictment or judgment down from murder to manslaughter, since the passion precluded the defendant having premeditation or being fully mentally capable of knowing what he/she was doing.
   See also: manslaughter, murder

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • heat of passion — A term used by the common law to refer to the condition of a defendant who can assert provocation as a basis for mitigating murder to manslaughter. Refers to passion or anger suddenly aroused at the time by some immediate and reasonable… …   Black's law dictionary

  • heat of passion — A term used by the common law to refer to the condition of a defendant who can assert provocation as a basis for mitigating murder to manslaughter. Refers to passion or anger suddenly aroused at the time by some immediate and reasonable… …   Black's law dictionary

  • heat of passion — The expression for a mental state on the part of the accused reducing the offense of the killing of a person from murder to manslaughter; heat in the sense of an emotional state, produced by an adequate or reasonable provocation and before a… …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • sudden heat of passion — sudden heat of passion: heat of passion Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • sudden heat of passion — In the common law definition of manslaughter, this phrase means an excess of rage or anger, suddenly arising from a contemporary provocation. It means that the provocation must arise at the time of the killing, and that the passion is not the… …   Black's law dictionary

  • passion — pas·sion / pa shən/ n: intense, driving, or overpowering feeling or emotion; esp: any violent or intense emotion that prevents reflection see also heat of passion Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • heat — index passion Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • heat — heatable, adj. heatful, adj. heatless, adj. heatlike, adj. /heet/, n. 1. the state of a body perceived as having or generating a relatively high degree of warmth. 2. the condition or quality of being hot: the heat of an oven. 3. the degree of… …   Universalium

  • heat — [[t]hit[/t]] n. 1) the condition or quality of being hot; the state of a body having or generating a high degree of warmth 2) degree of hotness; temperature: moderate heat[/ex] 3) the sensation of warmth or hotness 4) a bodily temperature higher… …   From formal English to slang

  • passion — In the definition of manslaughter as homicide committed without premeditation but under the influence of sudden passion or heat of passion , this term means any of the emotions of the mind known as rage, anger, hatred, furious resentment, or… …   Black's law dictionary

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