State v. Turner
Annotate this CaseCardell Turner was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in relation to an incident where he pointed a gun at two individuals, but the gun did not fire. During trial, Turner testified that he pulled up his gun and attempted to fire only because he thought one of the men was about to shoot him. However, a self-defense instruction was not requested by the defense nor given by the court. The jury found Turner guilty on all counts. Turner argued on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his request for new counsel, not instructing the jury on self-defense, and not recusing itself due to alleged bias. The Supreme Court of Kansas affirmed the lower courts' decisions on all issues. It found that Turner's disagreement with his counsel's strategy and frustration with the judge's rulings did not necessitate the appointment of new counsel or recusal of the judge. Additionally, the court determined that while a self-defense instruction would have been factually appropriate, its absence was not clear error requiring reversal, as there was significant evidence against Turner's self-defense claim and the jury verdict indicated that they would have rejected that defense.
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