People v. Goetz
| People v. Goetz | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Court | New York Court of Appeals |
| Full case name | The People of the State of New York v. Bernhard Goetz |
| Decided | July 8 1986 |
| Citation(s) | 68 N.Y.2d 96, 497 N.E.2d 41, 73 A.L.R.4th 971, 55 USLW 2107 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Defendant indicted (Jan. 25, 1985, Mar. 27, 1985); Supreme Court, Trial Term, New York County, dismissed indictment, 131 Misc. 2d 1, 502 N.Y.2d 577 (Jan. 21, 1986); Supreme Court, Appellate Division, affirmed, 116 A.D.2d 316, 501 N.Y.S.2d 326 (Apr. 17, 1986) |
| Subsequent action(s) | Defendant convicted after trial of one count of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Third Degree, upheld on appeal by New York Court of Appeals, 73 N.Y.2d 751 (Nov 22, 1988) |
| Holding | |
| 1) The defense of justification which permits the use of deadly physical force is not a purely subjective standard; the actor must not only have the subjective belief that deadly physical force is necessary, but those beliefs must also be objectively reasonable. 2) The mere appearance of perjured testimony given before the Grand Jury is not sufficient to sustain a dismissal of an indictment. | |
| Court membership | |
| Chief Judge | Sol Wachtler |
| Associate Judges | Bernard S. Meyer, Richard D. Simons, Judith S. Kaye, Fritz W. Alexander II, Vito J. Titone, Stewart F. Hancock, Jr. |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Wachtler, joined by Meyer, Simons, Kaye, Alexander, Titone, Hancock |
| Laws applied | |
| New York Penal Law Art. 35 | |
People v. Goetz, 68 N.Y.2d 96 (N.Y. 1986), "one of the most controversial cases in recent American History", was a court case involving subjective and objective standards of reasonableness in using deadly force for self-defense. The final decision was written by Chief Judge Sol Wachtler in the New York Court of Appeals (the highest court in the state). While the decision does not mention it, this case sparked a media frenzy at the time due to the circumstances of the underlying incident. The defendant, Bernhard Goetz, was both vilified and exalted in the press and in public opinion.
As this decision was issued prior to a final disposition in the case, the facts presented here were still in dispute and the Court summarized the testimony given before the Grand Jury. On December 22, 1984, four young black men (Troy Canty, Darryl Cabey, James Ramseur, and Barry Allen) boarded a subway car in the Bronx. Two of the men were carrying screwdrivers in their coats, which they later admitted were planned to be used to break into arcade game coin boxes.
Bernhard Goetz, a white man, boarded the train in Manhattan, and sat near the four men. He was carrying an unlicensed .38 caliber pistol on a waistband holster, which was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
Canty approached Goetz and told him to give them five dollars. At this point, Goetz stood up, unholstered his pistol, and quickly fired four shots. Three of the men were hit, while Cabey was not struck. Goetz then fired another shot at Cabey, severing his spinal cord.
Goetz fled the scene and on December 31 surrendered himself to the police in New Hampshire. He gave two lengthy statements to the police. Goetz admitted to carrying an unlicensed pistol in New York City since 1981, which he purchased after he was injured during a mugging. Goetz stated that when he was approached by the men on December 22, he could tell that they wanted to "play with me." Although he did not believe any of the men were armed, he stated that he feared that he would be "maimed." Goetz established a "pattern of fire," firing from left to right. He admitted to shooting Cabey with his last bullet after the initial barrage.
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