People v. Smith

The defendant was charged with the crime of murder, and was convicted of manslaughter. The defendant was himself shot by the deceased during the difficulty which resulted in the homicide, and it was a contested question upon the trial as to whether the defendant or the deceased fired first, the contention of the defendant being, that he acted in self-defense, and did not shoot until after he himself was wounded; and in the determination of this question it became material to ascertain the position in which the defendant was at the time when he was shot.

Upon the trial, Dr. Hayden, a physician…