Lima

This is the second appeal in this case, which arises from a residential robbery and subsequent high-speed chase involving defendant James Lima and his codefendant Hieu Huu Le, during which one of the police cars pursuing Lima and Le struck and killed an innocent motorist.

In November 1999, defendant Lima, along with codefendant Le, was convicted of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit residential robbery, residential robbery, and false imprisonment by menace. Lima and Le appealed, both contending that the jury was erroneously instructed on the felony-murder rule, as it did not apply to the facts of the case. Lima also separately contended that (1) there was insufficient evidence to support prosecution under the provocative act theory of murder; (2) the court improperly denied him the opportunity to conduct discovery and to introduce evidence that the pursuing police officer’s conduct was the proximate cause of the innocent motorist’s death; (3) the court erroneously instructed the jury on proximate cause; and (4) the court erred in denying his posttrial motion to represent himself. Le separately contended that (1) the provocative act theory did not apply to the…