United States v. Robert D. Black

HARRISON L. WINTER, Chief Judge:

Robert D. Black, an inmate of the Lorton Reformatory, appeals his conviction for assaulting and impeding a correctional officer with a deadly weapon. Assigned as grounds for reversal are (1) the admission of certain evidence which defendant contends was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial, and (2) the jury instruction on the issue of self-defense. Finding that the self-defense instruction was indeed erroneous, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

I

Black was charged in a single-count indictment under 22 D.C.Code § 505(b) (1981) for using “a dangerous and deadly…