State v. . Rhodes

158 S.E. 842, 201 N.C. 86, 1931 N.C. LEXIS 190

• Court: Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Decided: June 15, 1931
• Status: Published

Opinion

BbogdeN, J.

The evidence tends to show that the deceased came to the store of defendant, armed with a shotgun. It does not appear what happened, but at any rate the defendant was first seen leaving his store and going in the direction of his home, where he procured a shotgun. In the meantime the deceased had moved in the general direction of defendánt’s home, and they met at a point between the defendant’s home and his place of business. It is readily inferred that both the deceased and the defendant were hunting each -other with shotguns, and the record actually discloses that both fired at each other. The judge charged the jury as follows: “Under the law of this State a man has a right to use force to protect himself against the attack and assaults of another. He has no right to shoot another man because another man has -shot him or has insulted him or has done some act which he feels outraged by. He has no right to even lay hands upon him if the act is done.”

The defendant excepts to the following portion of the foregoing instruction : “Has no right to- shoot another man because another man has shot him.” This instruction is of course technically correct, but when applied to the setting of the case and the circumstances surrounding the parties, the law was stated too broadly, and the principle should have been applied and fitted to the testimony.

New trial.