Sims v. State

Appellant raises two issues in this direct appeal of his judgment and sentence for aggravated battery. We affirm the first issue without further comment, and for the reasons that follow, we also affirm Appellant’s claim that the trial court fundamentally erred in giving the standard jury instruction on the affirmative defense of justifiable use of non-deadly force.

The State charged Appellant with aggravated battery for a fight that occurred at William Perkins’ house in April 2012. Although there was conflicting evidence as to how Appellant came to be at Perkins’ house, it was undisputed that…