State v. Yelovich

YU, J

¶ 1 Petitioner Steven Yelovich asks this court to consider whether an individual defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on defense of property pursuant to RCW 9A.16.020 as an affirmative defense to assault. While the issue presented raises many interesting questions about the availability of the defense in general assault cases, the facts of this case govern the outcome, and so we resolve it on narrower grounds. We hold a defense of property jury instruction is not available when there is a valid court order prohibiting the defendant from contacting the protected party. We therefore…