Johns v. United States

FERREN, Associate Judge:

A jury convicted appellant, Malissa Q. Johns, who had been indicted for second-degree murder while armed, of the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter while armed. D.C. Code 1973, §§ 22-2405, -3202. Her appeal presents two principal questions.

One is of first impression in this jurisdiction: whether the trial court erred in ruling that if appellant were to take the stand, assert self-defense, and call witnesses to testify about the deceased victim's violent character, the government would be allowed to cross-examine appellant about her own 1971 arrest for…