State v. Floyd
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of second-degree murder and one count of shooting at, into, or within an occupied vehicle. During trial, Defendant asserted that he shot at the vehicle in which the victim was a passenger both in self-defense and defense of others. On appeal, Defendant argued for the first time that the jury instruction conflicted with regard to the duty to retreat. The court of appeal reversed Defendant’s convictions and remanded for a new trial, holding that the instructions at issue were contradictory and negated Defendant’s defense of self-defense and defense of others. The Supreme Court quashed the decision below, holding that the instructions at issue clearly stated the law and were not confusing, misleading, or contradictory with regard to the duty to retreat where there is a question of fact as to who was the initial aggressor. Remanded.
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