Nearly three decades after becoming notorious as the subway rider who shot four teenagers on a Manhattan train, Bernard H. Goetz found himself back in the news on Saturday, after being charged with trying to sell marijuana to an undercover police officer.
Mr. Goetz, 65, was arrested Friday evening after attempting to sell $30 worth of marijuana to the female officer, the police said. The officer approached him in Union Square and asked if he was selling, according to the police. Mr. Goetz said that he was, and went back to his apartment. When he returned, about 7:30 p.m., he was arrested.
The Goetz case -- where Goetz opened fire on several black youths in a New York subway car -- is a widely-taught case in criminal law courses. The case's rich (and disturbing) facts and racial dynamics effectively illustrate the debate over whether courts should adopt objective theories of self-defense (whether a reasonable person would have felt endangered) or subjective theories (whether the defendant actually felt endangered). Goetz argued for a subjective interpretation of the law and failed, but was ultimately found not guilty of the attempted murder charges at trial.
While Goetz's most recent arrest is for a minor offense, I felt that the case was worth noting, given his notoriety in the world of criminal law scholarship.
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