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TRIAL COURT CORRECTLY REFUSED TO CHARGE THE JURY ON THE JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE IN THIS ASSAULT CASE.

The Court of Appeals determined the trial court properly refused to charge the jury with the justification defense in this assault case:

Contrary to defendant’s contention, the trial court properly refused to instruct the jury on the defense of justification. Viewing the record in the light most favorable to defendant, as we must … , we conclude there is no reasonable view of the evidence that would have permitted the factfinder to conclude that defendant’s conduct was justified … . That is, we agree with the People that there is no evidence that objectively supports a belief that defendant was in danger of being physically harmed by the victim at the time defendant used force against him … .

Here, after “knocking [the victim] out,” defendant was able to freely and safely walk away from the bodega. Moreover, there simply is no evidence that, once he returned to the bodega, defendant needed to leave that store to strike the victim to defend himself. Even if defendant’s trial testimony establishes that he actually believed that the victim was lying in wait for him with a weapon … , there is no reasonable view of the evidence that “a reasonable person in . . . defendant’s circumstances would have believed” the victim to have threatened him with the imminent use of unlawful physical force … . Put simply, the surveillance footage reflects that defendant’s ambush of the victim with the milk crate cannot be considered self defense. People v Sparks, 2017 NY Slip Op 02469, CtApp 3-30-17

 

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