Decided September 21, 1896 Ruling court Colorado Supreme Court | End date September 21, 1896 | |
 | ||
Full case name Auguste Courvoisier v. Edwin S. Raymond Citation(s) 23 Colo. 113 (1896)
47 P. 284 Prior action(s) Appeal from District Court, Arapahoe County Judge(s) sitting Charles D. Hayt
John Campbell
Luther M. Goddard Similar Vosburg v Putney, Coggs v Bernard, Tuberville v Savage, Vaughan v Menlove, Brown v Kendall | ||
Courvoisier v. Raymond, 23 Colo. 113 (1896), was a case decided by the Colorado Supreme Court that affirmed the use of a reasonableness standard when determining the validity of a mistaken self-defense.
Contents
Factual background
Courvoisier was a jewelry store owner, and he was awoken in the middle of the night when robbers tried to break into his store. He retrieved his revolver and chased them outside. Raymond was a Denver police officer who began to approach Courvoisier, and Courvoisier shot him. Courvoisier said that he mistook Raymond for a robber, but the trial court found for Raymond.
Decision
The Colorado Supreme Court reversed the decision for Raymond because of faulty jury instructions in the trial court. The trial court failed to give the instruction that Courvoisier should not be held liable if his mistake that Raymond was a robber was reasonable given the circumstances.