Hirsch v. State

ON PETITION TO TRANSFER

BOEHM, Justice.

John M. Hirsch was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to eight years imprisonment. His defense at trial was self-defense. When Hirsch took the stand, the trial court barred him from giving a complete account of the altercation that led to the victim’s death. We grant transfer to address the scope of a defendant’s right under the Indiana Rules of Evidence to testify to facts or circumstances that are relevant to assessing a self-defense claim. Because we conclude that the trial court wrongly excluded testimony by Hirsch and the error was…