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Appellate panel hears arguments over whether self‑defense statute and late filing bar Drennan’s convictions
Summary
An appellate panel considered whether a trial judge should have instructed the jury under a firearms self‑defense statute and whether the defendant’s appeal should be dismissed as untimely; the court took the arguments under advisement after extended questioning of counsel.
An appellate panel heard oral argument in the appeal of Mr. Drennan, whose lawyer argued the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury under a statutory firearms self‑defense provision and that omission prejudiced the defendant.
Defense counsel told the court that "the jury has found that he ... was justified in shooting and even killing the assailant," and argued the trial judge committed plain error by omitting an instruction tied to the statute the defense cited, which counsel quoted as saying "a person shall not be charged with or convicted of a violation of this part if the person possessed, displayed, or employed a handgun in justifiable self defense." The defense framed the omission as neither a tactical waiver nor harmless: counsel said prior trial attorneys neglected to request the instruction and that the record shows no deliberate, tactical forfeiture of…
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