Lynn v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseAppellant James Lynn, Jr. was tried by jury and convicted of the murder of Tonya Lynn. At trial, Appellant did not dispute that he killed Tonya, but he claimed that her killing was only voluntary manslaughter, arguing that it was provoked by, among other things, her admission that she recently had been unfaithful. The trial court permitted Appellant to testify about this admission, but it refused to allow additional evidence of her recent infidelity, including the testimony of two men with whom she allegedly was having extramarital affairs around the time of her death. On appeal, Appellant argued that the trial court erred when it disallowed this additional evidence as irrelevant. The Supreme Court agreed and reversed his conviction.
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