Ashley Nicole Nelson v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
49A02-1609-CR-2183
| Ind. Ct. App. | Jun 20, 2017Background
- Ashley Nelson and her husband T.M. had a physical altercation at their home on March 31, 2016; police were called and Officer Willford arrived within minutes.
- Officer Willford observed T.M. running from the house, a vacuum thrown after him, and Nelson kick T.M. in the back; he testified he saw no injuries and Nelson did not tell him T.M. had assaulted her.
- Nelson testified T.M. had choked her, pulled her hair, and that she pushed/threw the vacuum and did not kick or punch him; she claimed self-defense and that T.M. was impaired.
- T.M. did not testify; the court excluded his recorded-statement testimony after he failed to appear twice.
- The State amended charges from more serious counts to a Class B misdemeanor battery; a jury convicted Nelson of Class B misdemeanor battery.
- Nelson appealed, arguing the State failed to disprove her claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the State rebutted Nelson's self-defense claim | State: evidence showed Nelson used force after threat ended and used disproportionate force | Nelson: she reasonably feared imminent harm after being choked and assaulted, so her actions were defensive | Court: affirmed — evidence supported that threat was no longer imminent and force was excessive, so self-defense failed |
Key Cases Cited
- Wilson v. State, 770 N.E.2d 799 (Ind. 2002) (standard for sufficiency review and State's burden to rebut self-defense)
- Coleman v. State, 946 N.E.2d 1160 (Ind. 2011) (self-defense as legal justification)
- Cole v. State, 28 N.E.3d 1126 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (elements required to establish self-defense)
- Dixson v. State, 22 N.E.3d 836 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (imminence requirement for non-deadly-force self-defense)
- Miller v. State, 720 N.E.2d 696 (Ind. 1999) (ways State may meet burden to rebut self-defense)
- Weedman v. State, 21 N.E.3d 873 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (force must be proportionate; excessive force extinguishes self-defense)
- McCullough v. State, 985 N.E.2d 1135 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013) (fact-finder not required to accept defendant's self-defense claim when evidence contradicts it)