State v. Greenfield, 375 N.C. 434

Background

Def. Greenfield went to Jon and Beth’s apartment to buy marijuana; he picked up a gun from a coffee table and a shootout followed in which Jon died and Beth was seriously injured. Facts were disputed; Greenfield testified he was shot first and fired at Jon in self-defense and unintentionally struck Beth.
Greenfield gave notice he would assert self-defense; at the charge conference he requested jury instructions on self-defense and on transferred intent as applied to self-defense (i.e., that a lawful act of self-defense that accidentally injures a bystander is excused).
The trial court refused Greenfield’s proposed self-defense/transferred-intent instruction for the assault charge, instead giving the standard accident instruction and a general transferred-intent instruction; it gave a self-defense instruction only for certain homicide theories.
The jury convicted Greenfield of first-degree felony murder (assault as underlying felony) and assault with intent to kill; a second-degree murder verdict was returned but initially set aside then later accepted; Greenfield appealed.
The Court of Appeals held the trial court erred by failing to give the self-defense instruction for the assault count and remanded for a new trial on that charge while directing entry of a second-degree murder judgment; the State and Greenfield petitioned for further review.
The North Carolina Supreme Court held the trial court erred in failing to give the requested self-defense and transferred-intent instructions as to any shots intended for Jon, that the error was prejudicial, and that a new trial on all charges is required (affirming in part, reversing in part the Court of Appeals).

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Greenfield's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by refusing Greenfield’s requested jury instructions on self-defense and transferred intent for the assault charge	The general transferred-intent instruction and the accident instruction were adequate; Greenfield’s specific proposed instruction was unnecessary	The evidence entitled him to a self-defense instruction and to an instruction that self-defense can transfer to an unintended bystander	Yes. Taken in the light most favorable to defendant, his testimony warranted a perfect self-defense instruction for shots aimed at Jon and a transferred-intent/self-defense instruction for any injury to Beth.
Whether the instructional error was prejudicial and what remedy is required	Any error was harmless; the jury rejected self-defense (convictions show they disbelieved his defense)	The omission prejudiced Greenfield because self-defense could negate the underlying felony for felony murder; requested wording was necessary to explain transfer of justification	Prejudicial. There is a reasonable possibility the outcome would differ; Supreme Court orders a new trial on all charges and reverses the Court of Appeals’ direction to enter a second-degree murder judgment.

Key Cases Cited

State v. Dalton, 178 N.C. 779, 101 S.E. 548 (N.C. 1919) (doctrine of transferred intent: justification for attack on intended victim transfers to unintended bystander)
State v. Morgan, 315 N.C. 626, 340 S.E.2d 84 (N.C. 1986) (competent evidence of self-defense entitles defendant to instruction)
State v. Harvey, 372 N.C. 304, 828 S.E.2d 481 (N.C. 2019) (elements and definition of perfect self-defense)
State v. Juarez, 369 N.C. 351, 794 S.E.2d 293 (N.C. 2016) (perfect self-defense can defeat the underlying felony and thus the felony murder charge)
State v. Webster, 324 N.C. 385, 378 S.E.2d 748 (N.C. 1989) (evidence reviewed in the light most favorable to defendant for entitlement to an instruction)
State v. Sargeant, 206 N.C. App. 1, 696 S.E.2d 786 (N.C. Ct. App. 2010) (trial court may intrude on jury province by accepting partial verdicts and sending jury back with incomplete instructions)