TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Apr 30, 2020

The Tennessee Supreme Court today clarified that a trial court is required to charge a jury on self-defense only when the issue has been fairly raised by the proof at trial. In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court held that the trial court, not the jury, must make the threshold determination of whether self-defense has been fairly raised by the proof. Read the unanimous opinion in State v. Antonio Benson authored by Justice Roger A. Page.