List all the facts relevant to deciding whether Myah Batie was the initial aggressor.
On March 11, 2014, a jury convicted Myah Evans Batie of domestic violence in violation of R.C. 2919.25(A) with a prior conviction specification. The charge arose out of a physical altercation between Batie and her husband, where the husband called 911 for assistance. Batie appealed. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed.
[On direct examination, Officer Todd Simpson testified as follows at Myah Evans Batie’s trial:] Q. And when you respond to a domestic violence call, is it your duty to determine who is the primary physical aggressor? A. Yes, it is. Copyright 2017 Ccngagc Learning. Alt Rights Reserved . May not be copied, scanned. or duplicated. in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the cBook and/or eChapter(s) Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Leaming reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it Q. Based on your conversation in speaking with the victim … outside, in speaking with the defendant inside, your observations, what did you conclude? A. The observations of the evidence proved that Miss BatieDefense Counsel: Objection. The Court: Overruled. A. Miss Evans started the disturbance, continued and assaulted and injured her husband. Q. And what was your basis for coming to that conclusion? A. His bruising obviously on his face, the scratches, bite marks on his arm, and I think his leg.
A claim of self-defense requires the defendant prove by a preponderance of the evidence that ( 1) she “was not at fault in creating the situation giving rise to the affray” ; (2) that she “had a bona fide belief that she was in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that her only means of escape from such danger was in the use of such force;” and (3) “that she did not violate any duty to retreat or avoid danger.”