Louisiana's Stand Your Ground Law: State v. Coutee

The episode details the Louisiana Supreme Court's review of the case State of Louisiana vs. Kayla Jean Giles Coutee, involving a defendant convicted of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice for killing her estranged husband. The majority opinion reverses and vacates the murder conviction, arguing that the trial court's jury instruction on the "aggressor doctrine" was an error because it conflicted with Louisiana's "stand your ground" law, which creates a presumption of reasonable belief in using deadly force when someone is unlawfully entering a vehicle. However, the dissenting and concurring opinions argue that the "aggressor doctrine" instruction was appropriate given evidence of premeditation by the defendant and that the jury was capable of discerning the facts. The case is remanded for further proceedings on the murder charge, and for the appellate court to reassess the sufficiency of evidence for the obstruction of justice conviction and the length of its associated sentence.