State v. Mack

In State v. Mack, 82 Ohio St.3d 198, 1998 Ohio 375, 694 N.E.2d 1328, the supreme court explained that in order to instruct on the inferior offense of aggravated assault, an objective standard must be applied to determine whether the alleged provocation is reasonably sufficient to bring on a sudden passion or fit of rage. That is, the provocation must be "sufficient to arouse the passions of an ordinary person beyond the power of his or her control." If this objective standard is met, the inquiry shifts to a subjective standard to determine whether the defendant in the particular case "actually was under the influence of sudden passion or in a sudden fit of rage." Id., citing Shane (1992), 63 Ohio St.3d 630, 634-635, 590 N.E.2d 272, 276.