Mr. Smith Case In Defense Of State V. Black

Emma Hodges
Topic 2A
Defense of Mr. Smith
While Mr. Smith is accused of assault, we can see that this is not true when we examine the precedent set in State v. Black. To examine both cases it is important to first know the circumstances of each. In State v. Black, the wife started a fight in which the husband, after much provocation, dragged her to the floor by her hair. In Mr. Smith’s case, his wife initiated an argument, within earshot of the couple’s eight-year-old child and a neighbor’s child, over the family’s finances and her husband’s drinking. Mr. Smith, overwhelmed by his wife’s screaming, threatened to hit her unless she stopped. Seeming as Mrs. Smith did not stop yelling at her husband, Mr. Smith went to hit her with a piece of

Black prohibits “permanent injury… excess of violence, or such a degree of cruelty as shows that it is inflicted to gratify his [the husband’s] own bad passions” (11), none of these are present in Mr. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith’s injuries were by no means permanent seeming as they disappeared within five days of the incident. Mr. Smith only hit his wife once proving no excess of violence. He was not gratifying bad passions, merely reacting to the provocation of his wife shouting at him. If anything, Mr. Smith showed great control. He was going to hit his wife with a piece of kindling, but reconsidered and instead slapped her, causing less

State v. Black states, “a public exhibition in the courthouse of such quarrels and fights between man and wife widens the breach, [and] makes reconciliation almost impossible” (11). While reconciliation between a man and a woman is not always necessary, it becomes necessary when there is a child involved. For the well being of the child, it is fitting that this case should be kept from the public forum so that Mr. and Mrs. Smith are able to “make the matter up and live together as man and wife should”