New Hampshire v. Mayo
Annotate this CaseDefendant Josiah Mayo appealed after a jury convicted him of first degree assault with a deadly weapon, and reckless second degree assault. On appeal, he argued that the Superior Court erred by: (1) failing to instruct the jury that his use of force in defense of his cousin was justified if he reasonably believed that his cousin was not the initial aggressor or provoker; (2) denying his motion to dismiss the first degree assault charge on the grounds that his shod foot could not constitute a deadly weapon under RSA 625:11, V (2007); and (3) allowing the admission of evidence of the defendant’s prior convictions for impeachment purposes. Given that there was some evidence both that the cousin was the initial aggressor or provoker and that defendant was unaware of his cousin’s aggressive and/or provocative actions, the Supreme Court could not conclude that the trial court’s erroneous instructions did not affect the verdict, and therefore were harmless, beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, the Court held that this error required that defendant’s convictions be reversed and that he be granted a new trial.
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