[Download] "People v. Dondi Richardson" by Supreme Court of New York # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Dondi Richardson
- Author : Supreme Court of New York
- Release Date : January 06, 1989
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 66 KB
Description
DECISION & ORDER Several witnesses testified that the defendant got out of a car and fired shots at a particular person.
A bystander was killed. The bullet came from the direction in which the defendant was shooting. The defendant claimed that
the person he was shooting at initiated the incident and fired the first shot. The defendant argues that the People failed
to disprove his defense of justification beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree. It is well established that justification is not a defense to the use of deadly physical force unless the actor reasonably
believes that another person is about to use deadly physical force against him and he is unable to retreat safely (Penal Law
§ 35.15[2][a]). In the instant case, there was ample evidence to enable the jury to find that the defendant initiated the
incident, was not acting in self-defense, and, even if he was not the initial aggressor, had every opportunity to retreat
safely without the use of deadly force. Accordingly, the finding that the defendant was not justified in his conduct was both
supported by legally sufficient evidence (People v Contes, 60 N.Y.2d 620) and was not against the weight of the evidence (CPL
470.15[5]).