State v. Greenawalt

Citations

• 2025 Ohio 4906

Syllabus

Self-Defense; Jury Instruction; Separation of Witnesses; Prior Inconsistent Statements; Cumulative Error. To raise the affirmative defense of self-defense at trial, the defendant must produce evidence that tends to support the conclusion that his or her use of force was justified. To warrant a jury instruction on self-defense, the defendant must produce evidence that (1) he or she was not at fault in creating the situation that led to the affray; (2) he or she had a bona fide belief that the use of force was the only way to escape an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm; (3) he or she did not violate any applicable duty to retreat. A separation order is issued to prevent witnesses from hearing the testimony of others and tailoring their statements accordingly. Issues relating to the separation of witnesses are entrusted to the discretion of the trial court. If a witness admits to making a prior inconsistent statement, a trial court does not abuse its discretion in excluding extrinsic evidence of that prior inconsistent statement.