Michael Doerhoff v. State of Arkansas

Summary

The court affirmed Doerhoff’s first-degree-murder conviction, holding that the circuit court properly instructed the jury on justification under the amended stand-your-ground statute. The amended statute was unambiguous and required no resort to legislative intent or the rule of lenity, and the modified instruction accurately stated the law in effect when the offense occurred. The court also held that Doerhoff was not entitled to a supplemental non-model instruction on excessive force because the model instruction accurately stated the governing law and he did not challenge that language.