This case involved two defendants convicted by a jury of assault and battery arising from a March 1955 altercation at a cottage in Brunswick, Maine, in which the victim and defendants offered conflicting accounts of who initiated the violence and whether the defendants acted in self-defense. The defendants raised exceptions to the trial court's denial of a directed verdict, denial of a new trial motion, and certain jury instructions on self-defense. The court clarified that in felony cases, a motion for a new trial does not waive exceptions to the denial of a directed verdict and that Maine law permits an assaulted person to stand their ground and use no more force than necessary without a duty to retreat. It overruled most exceptions but sustained the one challenging the jury instruction requiring retreat when possible, as that instruction was prejudicial.

criminal lawprocedure