State v. Smith

Appellant was charged, tried by jury, and convicted of second-degree murder.

On April 4, 1968, in a tavern in Seattle, the decedent and appellant quarreled. At the time he was shot by appellant, the decedent had his hands in his trouser pockets. There was disputed evidence as to which party was advancing and which retreating when appellant pointed a gun at decedent and fired three times in rapid succession. There was some evidence of an altercation between the decedent and appellant, but it appears that there was no violence prior to the shooting.

Appellant claimed self-defense. Homicide is…