Court Opinion

ID: 9531011
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:06:19.555966+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:19.354935
License: Public Domain

MATHIAS, Judge,
concurring.
I write to concur only to express my personal distaste and regret that this gruesome case must be retried because of Smith’s claim of self-defense. However, to hold otherwise would also preclude a claim of self-defense in much less reprehensible and much more common circumstances, such as a confrontation between motor vehicle operators after a collision stemming from criminal recklessness. Depriving those accused of a crime of a claim of self-defense reduces our society to an unacceptable “Wild West” mentality.
For all of these reasons, I regretfully concur.