State v. Jones

Summary

The court reversed the Appellate Court and directed it to affirm the defendant’s conviction for assault in the second degree. It held that although the prosecutor improperly asked the defendant to comment on other witnesses’ truthfulness, the improprieties did not deprive him of a fundamentally fair trial; the jury instructions on the initial-aggressor exception were not reasonably likely to mislead the jury; and the warrantless retention of the knife was reasonable because police had probable cause to believe it was evidence of the assault. No separate opinions were filed.