State v. Bolar

Matthew F. Bolar was charged with and tried for murder in the first degree (premeditated intent) and in the alternative with first degree felony murder based on the predicate crime of first degree burglary. He was convicted only of first degree felony murder, however, which he now appeals, arguing inter alia that the State’s use of a faulty accomplice liability jury instruction necessitates a new trial and that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did not act in self-defense. But by finding Bolar guilty of felony murder, the jury necessarily found, in accord with the…