R v Smith [2000]

Facts

• Smith killed the defendant while both intoxicated and depressed following an argument

Issue

• Could Smith’s intoxicated and depressed state be taken into account by the jury when considering provocation

Decision

• Yes

Reasoning

• The House of Lords allowed provocation’s objective assessment of the reasonable man to account for very subjective characteristics of the defendant (with the jury to decide which characteristics specifically), arguably diluting the effectiveness of having an objective test at all