Utah Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Self-Defense Instruction and 911-Call Evidence in Hunt Appeal

Utah Supreme Court oral argument: Natalie Skabin, counsel for appellant Mr. Hunt, told the court the trial judge erred by refusing to give an instruction clarifying that a defendant need not face an actual danger to establish self defense and that a reasonable mistake of fact can satisfy the statute.

Skabin argued the statutory phrase "reasonably believes that force is necessary" is not explicit that a reasonable mistake can suffice and that the requested instruction would have clarified that point for the jury. Skabin cited earlier decisions and told the court that "the statute and the instruction ... stated that force is justified only if the individual reasonably believes that force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury, and that just leaves kind of fuzzy the question of whether someone can reasonably believe force is necessary in the moment when hindsight reveals that there was no actual danger." She urged the court to treat the district court's refusal as an abuse of discretion where the statute and the facts supported the clarification.

State counsel Connor…