Ex Parte Corey Lee Walton Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals (in Re: Corey Lee Walton…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama held that the trial court improperly admitted details of Walton's prior youthful-offender adjudications in his reckless-manslaughter trial. Because Walton proceeded under common-law self-defense, accepted that he had a duty to retreat, and was not relying on stand-your-ground principles, the prior-crimes evidence was irrelevant to the issues submitted to the jury; in any event, its prejudicial effect outweighed any probative value. The court reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment and remanded for further proceedings.