Heywood Fortune v. Commonwealth

Summary

The court held that the trial court improperly excluded authenticated coroner depositions and related testimony concerning their verification, thereby limiting the accused's ability to impeach two witnesses. It further held that several jury instructions misstated or incompletely presented the law of self-defense, curtilage, reasonable belief, and voluntary manslaughter. Because these errors prejudiced the accused's ability to present his defense, the conviction was reversed and a new trial was granted.