Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court Case

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Curzyk
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Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court Case

Post by Curzyk »

You know, I've sat through the legal portion of the concealed carry course (back when the whole course was 12 hours), and I've read plenty on here over the years, but it wasn't until recently that I got a better understanding of the claim of self-defense and particularly the duty to retreat. How? I was a juror this week on a Felonious Assault case. The whole case hinged on the defendant's story versus the victim's story. Nobody else saw anything, and there was no camera footage. Two wildly different stories. The defendant's story was backed by three or four other witnesses who were all friends of his and could back most of his story except the actual incident. The victim's story was backed by one other witness, a girlfriend who didn't see anything.

Participating in deliberation, I got to learn a lot more about how people think. Once we had pieced together a timeline of events from each story, then tried to figure out what made the most sense (because neither story seemed entirely true), we then had to weigh the evidence against the three components of self-defense to see if any of them were defeated beyond a reasonable doubt.

The jury was unanimous from the start on the belief that the defendant did not start or escalate the situation. The jury was split on the honest belief of imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, mainly because of the clause about "and had no other option except the use of force". The jury was split even more on the defendant's duty to retreat. The main issue was that the defendant's story about trying to get away was after the use of force in question. Prior to that, he had involved himself in a physical altercation that went from inside an establishment to outside. Outside, he claimed that he stayed and watched the fight, and pretty much everyone on the jury felt he should have left like many other bystanders had. The sticking point was that one of the people fighting was a friend of his.

Long story short, the defendant's side was more believable than the victim's side. The only evidence against the defendant's claim of self-defense was the victim's testimony. Because none of the elements of self-defense could be disproved beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant was found not guilty.

What saved the defendant was the change to Ohio's self-defense law effective around March of last year where the burden of proof shifted from the defense to the prosecution. If it were not for that change, a young man would most likely have been convicted yesterday. The jury didn't necessarily believe he was wholly without fault in the matter, but neither did we believe that the victim was either. What we did believe was that there simply wasn't enough evidence.

Figured I'd share my experience as food for thought.

Edit: I should say that the jurors all felt terrible for the victim. They won't see any justice served, and they did suffer quite the injury. I personally anticipate a civil case for damages since the defendant did not dispute the assault itself.
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Hyflyer
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by Hyflyer »

Interesting to read. Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective.
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by techmike »

^ + 1
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by schmieg »

I remember when prosecutors used to look at cases and decide it was "mutual combat" and just not file the charges.
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by DontTreadOnMe »

Curzyk wrote:What saved the defendant was the change to Ohio's self-defense law effective around March of last year where the burden of proof shifted from the defense to the prosecution. If it were not for that change, a young man would most likely have been convicted yesterday.
As a reminder, up until that change Ohio was the only state in the country that required the accused to prove their self-defense claim. An Ohioan claiming self-defense was essentially proving the state's claim against them (admitting the act) and was placed in the position of having to prove their innocence. Although there was a lot of opposition to the change it aligned the burden of proof for self-defense in Ohio with the rest of the country.
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by Werz »

schmieg wrote:I remember when prosecutors used to look at cases and decide it was "mutual combat" and just not file the charges.
"Mutual combat" or mutual disorderly conduct usually works out for simple Assault. Not so easy for Felonious Assault.
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Re: Defense of Self-Defense and Duty to Retreat in a Court C

Post by Werz »

DontTreadOnMe wrote:
Curzyk wrote:What saved the defendant was the change to Ohio's self-defense law effective around March of last year where the burden of proof shifted from the defense to the prosecution. If it were not for that change, a young man would most likely have been convicted yesterday.
As a reminder, up until that change Ohio was the only state in the country that required the accused to prove their self-defense claim. An Ohioan claiming self-defense was essentially proving the state's claim against them (admitting the act) and was placed in the position of having to prove their innocence. Although there was a lot of opposition to the change it aligned the burden of proof for self-defense in Ohio with the rest of the country.
I think there is an interesting psychology for a jury under these circumstances. If the self-defense claim is reasonably legitimate, it becomes a true judgment call, and it makes it easier for the jury to acquit. If the self-defense claim looks like BS, the jury resents the fact that the defendant is presenting it, and it makes it easier for them to convict.
"An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life."
-- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon
"Remember that protecting our gun rights still boils down to keeping a majority in the electorate, and that our daily activities can have the impact of being ambassadors for the gun culture ..."
-- BobK
Open carry is a First Amendment exercise.
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