Courvoisier v. Raymond

Facts

Courvoisier lived upstairs in a brick building in South Denver and used part of the ground floor as a jewelry store. Shortly after midnight, men shook the door of the store and demanded to be let in. When he refused, they cursed him and broke some signs on the front of the building. They then entered by another door, went upstairs and knocked on the door of a room where his sister was sleeping. Courvoisier partly dressed, took his revolver and drove them out. Outside, they were joined by two or three others. To frighten them away, he fired a shot in the air. They went around to the front street and threw stones and brickbats at him, and he fired a second and perhaps a third shot. Raymond and two deputy sheriffs across the street noticed the first shot. Raymond went on alone toward Courvoisier, calling out that he was an officer and telling him to stop shooting. Courvoisier shaded his eyes, took deliberate aim and fired, seriously wounding Raymond. Raymond claimed Courvoisier knew he was an officer and fired recklessly. Courvoisier said he took Raymond for one of the rioters, believed his life was in danger, did not know Raymond was an officer, and had no glasses on.

Issues

1. Did the trial court err in telling the jury to find for the plaintiff if he was not assaulting the defendant when shot, so that the defendant's claim of justification never reached the jury?
2. When a defendant in a civil action pleads necessary self-defense after shooting a person he took for one of the rioters attacking him, and he would have been justified in shooting a rioter who advanced as the plaintiff did, must the jury decide whether he made that mistake and whether it was excusable under all the circumstances?

Holding

The instruction was erroneous because it excluded from the jury the defendant's claim that he mistook Raymond for one of the rioters and was justified in shooting. Whether the mistake was excusable in light of all the circumstances was for the jury, so the judgment was reversed.