State v. Sims
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
162 W. Va. 212 (1978)
- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
Paul Sims (defendant) and two others broke into the home of the Schmidts during the early morning hours. Sims was carrying a shotgun when he went into the home. During the break-in, Oscar Schmidt shot Sims in the arm. Sims then fired the shotgun, which killed Oscar’s son Walter. Sims claimed that being shot in the arm caused an involuntary muscle spasm in his trigger finger. The State of West Virginia (plaintiff) charged Sims with first-degree murder, based on the felony-murder rule. Sims presented deposition testimony from a neurologist, who testified that the gun shot might have caused an involuntary muscle spasm. Before trial, the trial court ruled in limine that the involuntary muscle spasm theory, even if true, did not present a defense to felony murder. Sims pleaded guilty, and filed an appeal challenging his guilty plea as involuntary.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Miller, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
