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State v. Kelly

Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1984

91 N.J. 178, 478 A.2d 364

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Brief Fact Summary

Defendant killed her husband by stabbing him with a pair of scissors. Defendant claims that it was done in self-defense, and that she was a victim of battered-woman's syndrome. The question left to the court was whether an expert should be allowed to testify on the effects of battered woman's syndrome.

Rule of Law and Holding

The court held that the battered-woman's syndrome is an appropriate subject for expert testimony; that the experts' conclusions, despite the relative newness of the field, are sufficiently reliable under New Jersey's standards for scientific testimony; and that defendant's expert was sufficiently qualified.