Johnson v. State
Texas Court of Appeals
638 S.W.2d 636 (1982)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
James Johnson (defendant) fought with Wilbur Williams over the results of a dice game that Johnson won. Johnson avoided Williams for the next two weeks after hearing rumors that Williams intended to come after him with a loaded shotgun and pistol. One evening, Johnson ran into Williams at a bar. Johnson was unarmed but was meeting a friend who did carry a gun. Williams and his friends approached Johnson, and Johnson’s friend gave him her gun. Williams and his friends began beating Johnson, and Johnson pulled out the gun and shot and killed Williams. Johnson was charged and convicted of carrying a weapon on licensed premises. On appeal, he argued that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on various defenses, including the defense of necessity. The state argued that necessity was not available as a defense against unlawfully carrying a weapon because it failed the third prong of the necessity defense, allowing the defense to proceed only if there was no legislative purpose to exclude the defendant’s justification. The state argued that the law Johnson was accused of violating excluded his justification because the legislature prohibited unlawful carry.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Schulte, J.)
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