Case Name: James E. ERVIN v. STATE of Arkansas
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 1977-11-21
Citations: 262 Ark. 439
Docket Number: CR 77-145
Parties: James E. ERVIN v. STATE of Arkansas
Judges: We agree. Harris, C.J., and Fogleman and Holt, JJ.
Reporter: Arkansas Reports
Volume: 262
Pages: 439–440

Head Matter:
James E. ERVIN v. STATE of Arkansas
CR 77-145
557 S.W. 2d 617
Opinion delivered November 21, 1977
(Division I)
Harold L. Hall, Public Defender, by: William R. Simpson, Jr., Dep. Public Defender, for appellant.
Bill Clinton, Atty. Gen., by: Robert Lyford, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Opinion:
George Rose Smith, Justice.
On November 2, 1976, the appellant shot and killed Willie E. Briggs, in the course of an argument, as the two were sitting in a car at a parking lot in Little Rock. The appellant testified that he shot because he thought Briggs was about to draw a gun. Charged with second degree murder, the appellant was found guilty and given a 20-year sentence.
The court instructed the jury, in the language of the Criminal Code, that a person may not use deadly physical force in self-defense if he knows that he can avoid the necessity of using that force with complete safety by retreating. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 41-507 (Crim. Code 1976). The appellant argues that the court should have added the statutory exceptions: That one is not required to retreat if he is in his dwelling and was not the original aggressor, or is a law enforcement officer, or is assisting at the direction of such an officer. Id. The exceptions were not pertinent to the facts in the case; so there was no need for the court to include them in the charge to the jury. Gross v. State, 186 Ind. 581, 117 N.E. 562, 1 A.L.R. 1151 (1917); Adams v. State, 200 Md. 133, 88 A. 2d 556 (1952); Huckleberry v. State, 64 Okl. Cr. 396, 81 P. 2d 493 (1938).
Affirmed.
We agree. Harris, C.J., and Fogleman and Holt, JJ.