State v. Wanrow
Supreme Court of Washington
559 P.2d 548 (1977)
Wanrow (defendant), a 5'4" woman with a broken leg, was staying at a friend's home after learning a neighbor, Wesler, was suspected of molesting children and had tried to abduct her son; that night, an intoxicated Wesler — 6'2" — entered the home uninvited and refused to leave, and Wanrow shot him after turning around and being startled to find him standing directly behind her. The trial court instructed the jury using a general objective standard for self-defense that used language suggesting a male perspective, and did not permit the jury to consider events from before the immediate encounter.
Whether the justification of self-defense requires a subjective standard of reasonableness that accounts for all the facts and circumstances known to the defendant.