{"disclaimer":"This is a summary of public court records and is not legal advice. Missouri slip opinions may be modified or withdrawn; consult the official source.","party":{"slug":"samuel-jerry-whitaker-defendant","displayName":"SAMUEL JERRY WHITAKER, Defendant-","totalCases":1},"cases":[{"caseId":"moappsd:sd36011:2020-10-29","opinionId":"52b53f10-39ce-5caf-a02b-1d0644c1f184","slug":"state-of-missouri-plaintiff-respondent-v-samuel-jerry-whitaker-defendant-d36011","caseName":"STATE OF MISSOURI, Plaintiff-Respondent\nv.\nSAMUEL JERRY WHITAKER, Defendant-Appellant","caseNumber":"SD36011","court":"moappsd","courtLabel":"Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District","decisionDate":"2020-10-29","year":2020,"display_summary":"Samuel Jerry Whitaker was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action after shooting his stepdaughter's husband. On appeal, Whitaker claimed the trial court erred by refusing to admit the victim's 1991 aggravated battery conviction and by declining to give a requested self-defense instruction specifically identifying arson as a forcible felony. The appellate court affirmed the judgment, finding no abuse of discretion in the evidence ruling and no error in the instruction ruling because Whitaker continued the confrontation, precluding a self-defense plea.","primaryTopic":"criminal-procedure","topicSlugs":["criminal-procedure","evidence","jury-instructions","standard-of-review"],"outcomeNorm":"affirmed","officialSourceUrl":"https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=168434","detailUrl":"https://ott.law/missouri-courts/opinions/state-of-missouri-plaintiff-respondent-v-samuel-jerry-whitaker-defendant-d36011","relatedPracticeAreas":[{"slug":"criminal-law","label":"Criminal Law","href":"/practice-areas/criminal-law","score":40,"source":"tag","evidence":["tag: criminal-law","topic: criminal-procedure","text: state of missouri","text: criminal","text: conviction"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/criminal-law"},{"slug":"litigation","label":"Civil Litigation","href":"/practice-areas/litigation","score":12,"source":"topic","evidence":["topic: jury-instructions","topic: evidence"],"url":"https://ott.law/practice-areas/litigation"}],"role":"appellant"}]}