People v. Goetz

Facts

On December 22, 1984, four youths boarded an express subway train in the Bronx. They sat together in the rear portion of the train. The defendant sat on a bench near them.

One of the youths approached the defendant, and stated “give me five dollars.” He did not display a weapon. The defendant responded by standing up, pulling out his handgun, and firing four shots. Three of the them were hit. The defendant then fired another bullet at the one he missed. The defendant told the police that the youth tried to rob him. He admitted that if he had more bullets, he would have continued to shoot at them.

The prosecutor told the jury that the defense of justification could apply if a “reasonable man in [the defendant’s] situation” would have done the same thing. He was indicted for attempted murder.

The defendant moved to dismiss the charges. While the court was considering the motion, a newspaper stated that all of the youths had intentions of robbing the defendant prior to approaching him on the subway. An officer also told the prosecutor that he had been one of the first officers to enter the subway after the shootings, and that one of the youth had told him “we were going to rob [the defendant].” The lower court dismissed the charges on the basis that the defense of justification instruction was in error, as it did not permit the jury to consider the situation from the defendant’s perspective.