The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner v. Edward Kevin Degreat, Respondent. — Coats, J., Dissenting

Summary

The dissent contends that the defendant was not entitled to an affirmative self-defense instruction on the aggravated-robbery charge because reasonable self-defense would negate the robbery element requiring a knowing taking by force, rather than justify an otherwise completed robbery. It further concludes that any instructional error was harmless because the jury found the defendant guilty of reckless assault after receiving a self-defense instruction concerning the stabbing, thereby necessarily rejecting that he acted reasonably in self-defense. The dissent also criticizes the majority's interpretation of robbery as potentially encompassing the taking of services and refusal to pay for services voluntarily rendered.