State v. Dyson

Explicit evidence that a defendant intended to assault a victim is not necessary in order to provide the evidentiary basis for a self-defense instruction. What is necessary is evidence that the action that caused the victim’s injury was not accidental, but rather made in order to protect the defendant. Here Richard Dyson testified that after the victim put him in a choke hold, he engaged in passive resistance by rising up to get air. By doing this he caused the victim to be injured. This evidence that Dyson acted to protect himself supports a self-defense instruction. Accordingly, the trial…