Jones v. State

Reginald Cornelius Jones appeals his conviction and sentence on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm, arguing that the self-defense instruction used at his trial constituted fundamental error because it negated his defense by implying that Jones could only claim self defense if the victim suffered a physical injury. Because the Fourth District has repeatedly found use of the same instruction to be fundamental error on similar facts,11 think it important to note that the panel did not reach the merits of this issue because it was Jones’ trial counsel who provided the instruction to…