State v. Cunningham

Citations

• 2023 Ohio 157

Syllabus

The trial court erred in instructing the jury that self-defense was an affirmative defense on which appellant bore the burden of proof. Under State v. Brooks, Ohio Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-2478, __ N.E.3d __, the State bore the burden to disprove appellant's self-defense claim. The trial court's error in allocating the burden of proof was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, however, because the evidence at trial did not support a self-defense instruction. Judgment affirmed.