People v. Goetz
Court of Appeals of New York
497 N.E.2d 41 (N.Y. 1986)
On a New York subway, four youths approached Bernhard Goetz (defendant) and one said "give me five dollars"; two carried screwdrivers, but the group was otherwise unarmed, and Goetz, having been mugged before, pulled an unlicensed gun and shot all four, paralyzing one. Goetz fled, later surrendered, and admitted he did not think the youths were actually armed but feared being "maimed"; a grand jury initially indicted him only on weapons charges, but on resubmission with new evidence, a second grand jury indicted him on attempted murder and assault as well, and the trial court dismissed those charges after finding the prosecutor's instruction — requiring the jury to assess whether Goetz acted as "a reasonable man in his situation" would have — improperly included an objective element in the self-defense justification standard. An intermediate appellate court affirmed the dismissal, and the prosecution appealed.
Whether New York's self-defense justification standard permits the use of deadly force based solely on the defendant's subjective belief that such force was necessary, or requires that belief to also be objectively reasonable.