R v Clinton [2012] EWCA Crim 2 is a judgment of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales concerning the loss of control defence to murder, and the context of sexual infidelity.
In one of the trials (Jon Clinton), the judge found that the defendant had not adduced sufficient evidence to allow loss of control to be put to the jury.
Loss of control was introduced by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 as a replacement for the previous defence of provocation.
The court was asked to determine whether the loss of control defence could apply when sexual infidelity was combined with other factors that caused the purported loss of control, and whether the judges who put the issue to the jury had properly directed the jury in summing up.
He pleaded guilty to murder at the retrial and was given a mandatory life sentence with a minimum tariff of twenty years.