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.Criminal Law Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012, John Kaplan, Robert Weisberg, Guyora BinderThe Meaning of Equality for Battered Woman Who Kill Men in Self-Defense, PL Crocker - Harvard Women's LJ, 1985A Trend Emerges: A State Survey on the Admissibility of Expert Testimony concerning the Battered Woman Syndrome, A CL Coffee - J. Fam. L., 1986Factors 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 Janice Leidholm had killed her husband near Washburn, North Dakota and claimed self defense. The case clarifies between the defenses of justification and excuse. The case overturned Janice Leidholm’s prior conviction regarding her husband’s death.Dubber, Markus, and Hörnle, Tatjana. Criminal Law: A Comparative Approach. United Kingdom, OUP Oxford, 2014. Page 445.
References
Further reading Davick, K. H. (1984). Criminal law self-defense jury instructions given on subjective standard of reasonableness in self-defense do not require specific instruction on battered woman syndrome. North Dakota Law Review, 60(1), 141-152.