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would have come to a different result in the first instance.” Commonwealth v. Thomas, 73 Va. App.
121, 127 (2021) (alterations in original) (quoting Lawlor v. Commonwealth, 285 Va. 187, 212
(2013)).
“[W]e review de novo the ultimate question of whether law enforcement ‘had probable
cause to make an arrest.’” Park v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 635, 646 (2022) (quoting Doscoli
v. Commonwealth, 66 Va. App. 419, 424 (2016)). “[T]he question whether a person has been
seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment is reviewed de novo on appeal.” Reittinger v.
Commonwealth, 260 Va. 232, 236 (2000). “[W]hen the issues are the lawfulness of an arrest and
the reasonableness of force used to resist an unlawful arrest, the ultimate questions involve law
and fact and are reviewed de novo on appeal.” Doscoli, 66 Va. App. at 424-25 (quoting Brown
v. City of Danville, 44 Va. App. 586, 603 (2004)).
“A reviewing court’s responsibility in reviewing jury instructions is ‘to see that the law has
been clearly stated and that the instructions cover all issues which the evidence fairly raises.’”
Fahringer v. Commonwealth, 70 Va. App. 208, 211 (2019) (quoting Darnell v. Commonwealth, 6
Va. App. 485, 488 (1988)). “We review a trial court’s decisions in giving and denying requested
jury instructions for abuse of discretion.” Holmes v. Commonwealth, 76 Va. App. 34, 53 (2022)
(quoting Conley v. Commonwealth, 74 Va. App. 658, 675 (2022)). “[W]hether a jury instruction
accurately states the relevant law is a question of law that we review de novo.” Watson v.
Commonwealth, 298 Va. 197, 207 (2019) (quoting Payne v. Commonwealth, 292 Va. 855, 869
(2016)).
B. The trial court did not err in holding as a matter of law that Pearson unlawfully
entered Berry’s home and attempted to arrest him, nor did it err in giving the
complained of jury instructions in light of that ruling.
In his third and fourth assignments of error, Pearson contends that he had both the right to
arrest Berry and legally entered Berry’s home to effect that arrest. From this premise, Berry assigns Jump to an indexed page (18 of 18)