Schnarr v. State

Summary

The court held that the circuit court properly excluded unknown specific instances of the victim's violent conduct because the evidence was offered to establish the defendant's state of mind and was irrelevant without his prior knowledge. It held that excluding the defendant's family from essentially the entire voir-dire process violated his constitutional right to a public trial, requiring a new trial, but affirmed the refusal to instruct on negligent homicide and imperfect self-defense. The court therefore affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part.