Andrew Branca
Well-Known Fanatic
In more self-defense law fun from the Sunshine State, yesterday a Florida appellate court ruled that Marissa Alexander is entitled to a new trial on the aggravated assault charges that garnered her a 20-year sentence.
You may recall that the charges against Ms. Alexander arose when she got into an argument with her estranged husband, pushed past him to get into the household garage, retrieved a gun, returned to the conflict, and fired a "warning shot" by the husband and his two minor children. (In an unrelated matter, shortly after the shooting incident Alexander was arrested for committing a simple battery on the same hapless estranged husband).
The jury in that first trial took only 12 minutes to find her guilty of aggravated assault. Under Florida's "10-20-Life" law she was given the mandatory 20-year sentence for having fired a gun in the course of committing a felony. Alexander had earlier rejected a 3-year plea offer and decided she'd prefer to take her chances at trial. Oops.
In ordering a new trial the appellate court noted, it seems quite correctly, the the jury was incorrectly instructed on the issue of self-defense. The incorrect instructions suggested that Alexander, the defendant, bore some of the burden of persuasion on the issue of self-defense, which of course is not the case.
I did a rather lengthy legal analysis on yesterday's appellate decision as a guest post over at Legal Insurrection--Marissa Alexander Wins a ?Do-Over? in Florida ?Self-Defense? Case (http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/09/marissa-alexander-wins-a-do-over-in-florida-self-defense-case/)--and had done an earlier analysis of the case when it gained national attention in the aftermath of the Zimmerman acquittal--The Marissa Alexander Case Wasn?t About ?Stand-Your-Ground? Either (http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/0...er-case-wasnt-about-stand-your-ground-either/)--for anyone who is interested in the law of self defense details.
Separately, I'm going to be in Columbia, SC the weekend of October 19-20 for a seminar. It's my first time visiting Columbia, and if anyone has suggestions for interesting things to see, good places to eat, and so forth, I'd appreciate hearing them.
--Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
You may recall that the charges against Ms. Alexander arose when she got into an argument with her estranged husband, pushed past him to get into the household garage, retrieved a gun, returned to the conflict, and fired a "warning shot" by the husband and his two minor children. (In an unrelated matter, shortly after the shooting incident Alexander was arrested for committing a simple battery on the same hapless estranged husband).
The jury in that first trial took only 12 minutes to find her guilty of aggravated assault. Under Florida's "10-20-Life" law she was given the mandatory 20-year sentence for having fired a gun in the course of committing a felony. Alexander had earlier rejected a 3-year plea offer and decided she'd prefer to take her chances at trial. Oops.
In ordering a new trial the appellate court noted, it seems quite correctly, the the jury was incorrectly instructed on the issue of self-defense. The incorrect instructions suggested that Alexander, the defendant, bore some of the burden of persuasion on the issue of self-defense, which of course is not the case.
I did a rather lengthy legal analysis on yesterday's appellate decision as a guest post over at Legal Insurrection--Marissa Alexander Wins a ?Do-Over? in Florida ?Self-Defense? Case (http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/09/marissa-alexander-wins-a-do-over-in-florida-self-defense-case/)--and had done an earlier analysis of the case when it gained national attention in the aftermath of the Zimmerman acquittal--The Marissa Alexander Case Wasn?t About ?Stand-Your-Ground? Either (http://legalinsurrection.com/2013/0...er-case-wasnt-about-stand-your-ground-either/)--for anyone who is interested in the law of self defense details.
Separately, I'm going to be in Columbia, SC the weekend of October 19-20 for a seminar. It's my first time visiting Columbia, and if anyone has suggestions for interesting things to see, good places to eat, and so forth, I'd appreciate hearing them.
--Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
