People v. Miller

Defendant James Miller was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury. This is an appeal from that judgment. We reverse and remand to the district court for a new trial.

The defendant, James Miller, shot his brother-in-law Ware on July 12, 1971. Ware’s wife, an eyewitness, stated that she saw the defendant, with a gun in his hand, approach a car in which Ware was sitting. She was watching her husband alight from the car with his hands held high when she heard an initial shot followed by another two. According to Mrs. Ware, her husband was unarmed and had done nothing to provoke the shooting.