20 results for 'cat:"Assault" AND cat:"Self Defense"'.
J. Beam finds the trial court properly included a jury instruction that stated the "initial aggressor" in a fight could not claim self-defense. Although it was an incomplete statement of Mississippi self-defense law, the victim in this case showed no intention of harming defendant, who had no justification to hit him with a metal baseball bat. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Beam, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 2023-KA-226, Categories: assault, self Defense, Jury Instructions
J. Zimmerman finds inconsistencies in testimony provided by the victim and several eyewitnesses did not render defendant's assault conviction against the weight of the evidence. Although he claimed to have acted in self-defense when he stabbed the victim nine times, he admitted to voluntarily engaging in a fight with the victim, while there was no evidence to suggest he was in serious danger. Furthermore, the trial court was not required to give a provocation instruction to the jury because there was no evidence in the record to indicate defendant acted out of a "sudden fit of passion" following a dispute with the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Zimmerman, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1750, Categories: assault, Weapons, self Defense
J. Witt finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's post-conviction motion alleging his counsel was ineffective for failing to request a self-defense instruction. The jury reasonably found defendant was the initial aggressor in the altercation, and was therefore not entitled to use deadly force to defend himself. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Witt, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: WD86050, Categories: assault, Domestic Violence, self Defense
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The wheelchair-bound defendant shot at his cousin, who had pulled over in his vehicle to say "hi." That cousin and another cousin testified there was no conflict or altercation before defendant started shooting. Though defendant says the cousin was "bothering" him, he did not specify how, also telling officers he did not feel threatened when he began shooting. The lower court properly refused to provide a self-defense instruction, as there is no evidence it was necessary for defendant to protect himself. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00245-CR, Categories: assault, Weapons, self Defense
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J. Byrne finds the state presented sufficient evidence to disprove defendant's theory of self-defense and convict him of assault and attempted murder, including testimony from various witnesses who heard him say he would "shoot it out" with police to avoid going back to prison, as well as the 28-mile car chase that ensued before defendant barricaded himself inside his vehicle and shot police officers and their canine unit. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Byrne, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1315, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Rickman finds that the trial court improperly convicted defendant, a former police officer, of aggravated assault and violation of oath by a public officer after he fatally shot an unarmed man who was having a mental health crisis. The trial court incorrectly admitted the police department's use of force policy into evidence without identifying and redacting portions of the policy that conflict with Georgia's self-defense law, including a directive instructing officers to exhaust all methods of non-lethal force before using deadly force. It is unlikely that the admission of the policy did not contribute to the verdict because defendant's defense was based entirely on whether he was justified in using lethal force. Defendant may be retried on the aggravated assault offense but not for the violation of oath offense based on a violation of the policy. Reversed in part.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Rickman, Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: A23A1506, Categories: assault, self Defense
J. Duhart finds the trial court did not violate defendant's due process rights when it refused to consider his claim of self-defense. The evidence in the record overwhelmingly proved he was the instigator of the altercation with the landscaping worker and any self-defense claim would have been meritless, considering defendant ran over the victim with his car and escalated the situation by leaving his vehicle and throwing the first punches. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Duhart, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-858, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Stewart finds a criminal defendant does not have to intend to harm or kill a victim to be entitled to a self-defense jury instruction and, therefore, defendant's counsel was ineffective when he failed to request such an instruction during defendant's trial on assault charges. Defendant testified he shot his gun to scare the victim after the two had a heated argument outside a gas station, and because Ohio's self-defense statute requires only an "intent to repel or escape force," he was entitled to self-defense instruction and his conviction must be vacated. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Stewart, Filed On: March 7, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-776, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, assault, self Defense
J. Taubman finds the trial court properly sua sponte decided not to include a self-defense instruction during defendant's trial on assault and child abuse charges. Although his wife, one of the victims, armed herself with a knife at one point during the attack, there was no evidence she ever attacked defendant, while his own attorney also declined to request such an instruction. Meanwhile, defendant's harassment convictions should not have been merged with his assault convictions because they were not only based on separate conduct, but also include different state of mind elements that prevent merger under Colorado law. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Taubman, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 2024COA13, Categories: assault, Domestic Violence, self Defense
J. Kennedy finds the trial improperly weighed the credibility of defendant's testimony and denied his request for a self-defense jury instruction during his attempted murder trial. Its job was simply to determine if there was adequate evidence to support each element of a self-defense claim. Defendant, a cab driver, proved he was not at fault for the altercation with a patron who refused to pay for his fare, while the fact the patron was heavily intoxicated and half the age of defendant supported defendant's claim he feared for his life when the patron followed him out of a convenient store. Therefore, his convictions will be vacated and the case remanded for a new trial. Reversed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Kennedy, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-539, Categories: assault, self Defense, Jury Instructions
J. Ditkoff determines it was an error not to instruct the jury in self-defense, and vacates the conviction of a man for assault and battery. The man had pushed his ex-girlfriend away after she hit him with a dog leash and came at him with a broken beer bottle; this happened after he allegedly had knocked her to the ground and strangled her. Vacated.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Ditkoff, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 22-P-1036, Categories: assault, Battery, self Defense
J. Palafox finds a lower court did not err when it rejected defendant’s self-defense claim in convicting him of aggravated assault after he punched a child who “ding-dong ditched” his house. Defendant argued he was frightened, but other witnesses described him as having an “aggressive demeanor” and the overall evidence suggests that he “instead sought confrontation out of vengeance.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Palafox, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00038-CR, Categories: assault, self Defense
J. Schumacher finds that defendant was properly convicted of assault with intent to inflict serious injury and other charges following a bar brawl in which a man was shot and killed because the self defense claim was negated by the medical examiner's determination that the victim had been shot from behind. Affirmed in part.
Court: Iowa Court Of Appeals, Judge: Schumacher, Filed On: December 20, 2023, Case #: 22-1974, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Byrne finds the trial court properly admitted evidence regarding defendant's background in mixed martial arts training because the testimony did not constitute other acts evidence that would have prejudiced the jury or prove he was more likely to commit the assault with which he was charged. Meanwhile, the jury's decision to reject defendant's theory of self-defense was not unreasonable because the victim denied owning a knife or using one to attack him, while defendant's story changed repeatedly throughout the case and was not supported by any of the physical evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Byrne, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4170, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Bock finds the trial court properly allowed testimony during defendant's assault case concerning his retreat into his home during the altercation with the victim. None of the testimony or jury instructions mentioned anything about a duty to retreat that could have influenced the jury. Furthermore, defendant's decision to escalate the argument with the victim several times by first retrieving a gun from his home and then re-engaging after things had settled down disproved his theory of self-defense. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Bock, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3641, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Wilson finds that defendant was properly convicted of aggravated assault relating to the death of a restaurant owner. The evidence that the victim's two sons had a "falling out" did not warrant a new trial, and defendant did not give evidence showing he was "entitled to a self-defense jury instruction." Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 14-21-00461-CR, Categories: Evidence, assault, self Defense
J. Rodriguez finds a lower court ruled correctly in convicting defendant of robbery. Defendant argued jurors had not adequately considered his “defense of necessity” in the incident, but while jurors learned that the victim was armed, they also heard evidence that a group of men including defendant had initiated an assault on him, and this court “cannot conclude” that “robbing” the victim “was necessary.” Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Rodriguez, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 08-22-00118-CR, Categories: Robbery, assault, self Defense