State v. Gomes
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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the appellate court affirming Defendant's conviction of assault in the second degree, holding that the appellate court erred in determining that the trial court's investigative inadequacy jury instruction did not mislead the jury or otherwise deprive Defendant of his right to present an investigative inadequacy defense.
The jury found Defendant guilty of assault in the second degree, and the court rendered judgment in accordance with the verdict. On appeal, Defendant argued that the jury instructions deprived him of his right to present a defense of investigative inadequacy. The appellate court rejected Defendant's claim and affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the model jury instruction utilized by the trial court in this case failed properly to instruct the jury; and (2) the instructional error was not harmless.
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