Court Opinion

ID: 9597758
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 01:02:37.430239+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:26:33.548913
License: Public Domain

Bell, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
The statement concerning the charge on involuntary manslaughter by the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner found in Jackson v. State, 234 Ga. 549, 551 (216 SE2d 834) is obiter dictum and not binding. The holdings of this court found in Tate v. State, 123 Ga. App. 18, 19 (2) (179 SE2d 307) (authored by then Presiding Judge Jordan); the cases of Washington v. State, 126 Ga. App. 396 (190 SE2d 821) and Rogers v. State, 137 Ga. App. 319, 321 (223 SE2d 456) which cited and followed Judge Jordan’s Tate are correct and should not be overruled because of the dictum found in Jackson. Not only is the Jackson quote obiter dictum but it is also erroneous. Obviously, when a defendant exceeds the bounds of self-defense (which the jury has decided she did in this case), *739the defendant from that moment is no longer engaging in a lawful act (self-defense) but is aggressively committing a crime. In short it is not possible to engage in self-defense in an unlawful manner. "Self-defense” and "unlawful manner” are absolutely contradictive terms in law and to hold otherwise as a matter of law is a logical incongruity. Under the evidence, the defendant was not entitled to a charge on involuntary manslaughter (Code § 26-1103 (b)).
The judgment should be affirmed.