P. v. Vlahos-Schmidt
Defendant, a petite-120-pound woman, stabbed her 220-pound-male roommate in the back during an altercation in which he pummeled her in the face, bloodying her nose and blackening her eyes. Defendant testified she stabbed her roommate in self-defense, and the trial court allowed her to recount a number of prior violent incidents between them, but prevented defendant from testifying that on one occasion her roommate threw her down the stairs and on another occasion threatened to kill her. The jury was instructed on antecedent threats, but convicted defendant of felony assault. On appeal, defendant argues the trial court’s ruling violated her right to testify and constituted an abuse of discretion. We agree the court erred, but after a review of the entire record, conclude the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We will affirm.
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