State v. Reid

Citations

• 2019 Ohio 1542

Syllabus

COUNSEL – INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE – JURY INSTRUCTIONS –SELF-DEFENSE– CASTLE DOCTRINE: Where defendant had been charged with murder after stabbing the victim in defendant's own home, and where defendant had relied on the affirmative defense of self-defense at trial, defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to request that the jury be instructed that defendant had no duty to retreat pursuant to the castle doctrine: the evidence presented at trial supported such an instruction and defendant was prejudiced by its absence where the record contained evidence from which the jury could have determined that the remaining elements of self-defense had been established. [But see DISSENT: Defendant was not prejudiced by counsel's failure to request an instruction on the castle doctrine where the evidence failed to support a finding that defendant had an honest and reasonable belief that she was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.]