State of Iowa v. Lasondra A. Johnson

Summary

The court held that the jury instructions on Johnson's justification defense were misleading because they allowed the jury to treat the justified use of deadly force itself as the assault that eliminated the stand-your-ground exception and the presumption that deadly force was reasonable. Because the instructions did not require a separate assault distinct from the shooting, the court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, declining to reach Johnson's sentencing claims.