Supreme Court Weighs Self-Defense Case With Contradictory Jury Verdict
A Virginia man convicted of a felony for firing the gun he used to defend himself, after a jury cleared him of actually shooting the person he shot, is asking the Supreme Court to sort out the contradiction.
Snapshot
Alan Colie fired one shot at YouTube prankster Tanner Cook during an April 2023 confrontation at a northern Virginia mall. A jury acquitted Colie of aggravated malicious wounding and the related firearm charge, but convicted him of unlawful discharge of a firearm. The Supreme Court was set to discuss his cert petition in conference, according to Bearing Arms.
Key points
- The confrontation: Colie, a delivery driver, was followed and harassed by Cook as he tried to walk away before drawing his lawfully carried pistol and firing once, striking Cook in the chest.
- The split verdict: Jurors acquitted Colie of the most serious charges tied to shooting Cook but still convicted him of discharging a firearm, a result Bearing Arms' Cam Edwards called hard to square with a self-defense finding.
- The legal theory: Colie's attorney, Poulliard, argues jurors may have been confused by instructions and wrongly believed self-defense didn't apply to the discharge charge, calling the verdict "inconsistent with the law."
- The Supreme Court angle: Colie's petition leans on footnote 8 of United States v. Powell, asking whether verdicts that are logically exclusive, not just inconsistent, require the conviction be thrown out.
- What's at stake: No justice has yet asked Virginia to respond, a sign Edwards says isn't promising, while Colie remains a felon who has lost his Second Amendment rights.
Quick take
Edwards argues Colie "shouldn't have to spend the rest of his life as a convicted felon" over a verdict that may reflect juror confusion rather than guilt. Whether the Court agrees to look closer is still unknown, but the case raises a real question about how self-defense instructions get applied charge by charge.
Read the full story: bearingarms.com