Foster v. Commonwealth

Opinion

COLEMAN, J.

Cleandrew Foster was convicted of unlawful wounding in violation of Code § 18.2-51. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense and defense of others and that the Commonwealth’s attorney violated the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amend ment by using three peremptory challenges to exclude black members from the jury based on their race. We agree that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury as to the law of self-defense; thus, we do not reach Foster’s challenge to whether the jury was properly…