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JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE JURY INSTRUCTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN, CONVICTION REVERSED.

The Second Department determined the defense request for a jury instruction on the justification defense should have been granted. There was evidence of a struggle for a knife and defendant feared for his life:

A person is justified in using deadly physical force against another if he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of deadly physical force by such other person … . “A trial court must charge the jury with respect to the defense of justification whenever, viewing the record in the light most favorable to the defendant, there is any reasonable view of the evidence which would permit the jury to conclude that the defendant’s conduct was justified” … . A failure to give a justification charge under such circumstances constitutes reversible error … .

Here, the defendant requested a justification charge to the jury based, inter alia, upon his trial testimony that during his altercation with the decedent, there was a struggle for the Swiss Army-style knife attached to his key chain that he then used to inflict the fatal wounds. The defendant also testified that he feared for his life during the altercation. Under these circumstances, considering the record in the light most favorable to the defendant, the Supreme Court erred in failing to provide the jury with the requested justification charge … . People v Austin, 2015 NY Slip Op 09112, 2nd Dept 12-9-15

CRIMINAL LAW (FAILURE TO GIVE JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE JURY INSTRUCTION REQUIRED REVERSAL)/JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE (FAILURE TO CHARGE JURY REQUIRED REVERSAL)/JURY INSTRUCTIONS (FAILURE TO GIVE JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE JURY INSTRUCTION REQUIRED REVERSAL)

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