State v. White, 2011 UT 21

Brenda White was charged with attempted murder after driving her car at her ex-husband at his workplace, injuring him twice during the incident.
White moved pretrial for a jury instruction on extreme emotional distress, arguing stress from divorce and related issues justified the defense.
The trial court denied the instruction, concluding the defense required an extreme, contemporaneous trigger that caused loss of self-control.
The court of appeals affirmed, applying a contemporaneous triggering-event standard not found in the statute or prior Utah law, and limiting evidence accordingly.
The Utah Supreme Court granted certiorari to reassess the standard for granting an extreme emotional distress instruction and to determine the appropriate analysis under the statute and our case law.
The Court ultimately held that the contemporaneous-trigger requirement imposed by the court of appeals was improper and remanded to reevaluate under the correct framework that evaluates whether there is any reasonable basis for the defense and views circumstances from a reasonable person’s perspective

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the contemporaneous triggering event is required for the extreme emotional distress defense	White argued the contemporaneous trigger standard is not in the statute or controlling law	The State urged applying a rigorous contemporaneous trigger standard	Contemporaneous trigger not required; remand for proper evaluation
What standard governs entitlement to an extreme emotional distress instruction	Any reasonable basis supports giving the instruction	The court should apply a highly specific triggering test	Rule to give instruction if any reasonable basis exists; standard remains flexible, not overly restrictive
How to evaluate the 'reasonable explanation or excuse' from the defendant's conduct	Reasonableness should be viewed from the defendant's subjective perspective	Reasonableness should be evaluated objectively	Reasonableness evaluated from the viewpoint of a reasonable person under the then-existing circumstances

State v. Bishop, 753 P.2d 469 (Utah 1988) (enlarged extreme emotional distress standard; distanced from heat of passion)
State v. Clayton, 658 P.2d 624 (Utah 1983) (early framing of provocative-stimulus analysis later rejected)
State v. Spillers, 2007 UT 13, 152 P.3d 315 (Utah 2007) (affirmative defense standard; emphasis on reasonable basis)
State v. Shumway, 2002 UT 124, 63 P.3d 94 (Utah 2002) (contextual evaluation of distress and external triggers)
People v. Shelton, 385 N.Y.S.2d 708 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1976) (informs definition of extreme emotional distress)
State v. Low, 2008 UT 58, 192 P.3d 867 (Utah 2008) (statutory placement and evolution of the defense)