State v. Hooper

Summary

The Court held that defendant preserved his challenge to the denial of a self-defense instruction because he requested the instruction before the jury retired and the trial court expressly rejected the request. On the merits, the Court held that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to defendant, did not show that he used force to defend himself against unlawful force, so the trial court did not err by refusing the instruction. The Court modified and affirmed the Court of Appeals' decision.