P. v. Munoz CA2/5
It is undisputed that defendant and appellant Jose Luis Munoz (defendant) shot and killed Willie Thornton (Thornton) early one morning outside defendant’s home. The issue at trial was why. Defendant presented evidence he killed Thornton in order to protect his mother and himself. A jury found otherwise and convicted defendant of first degree murder. We consider whether reversal is warranted because, among other alleged errors, the trial court abused its discretion in excluding expert testimony on “fight or flight” syndrome and the trial court gave no instruction on whether and how the jury could consider “antecedent threats” that defendant claimed influenced his decision to kill Thornton.
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