State v. Corbett
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The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals vacating Defendants' convictions of second-degree murder and ordering a new trial, holding that the trial court committed prejudicial error in excluding evidence that was highly relevant as to Defendants' self-defense claims.
Defendants, Thomas Martens and his daughter, Molly Corbett, were found guilty of murdering Molly's husband, Jason Corbett. During trial, Defendants maintained that they had lawfully used deadly force to defend themselves while under a reasonable apprehension that they were facing an imminent threat of deadly harm during an interaction initiated by Jason. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court for a new trial, holding that the trial court erroneously excluded certain evidence, thus depriving Defendants of their ability to present a full and meaningful defense.
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