State v. Moore

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

COLEMAN, J.

The issue raised in this second-degree aggravated assault case is whether the jury should have been instructed on non-deadly force self-defense or deadly force self-defense. The trial court declined to submit either instruction to the jury. The Appellate Division reversed, finding that defendant was entitled to a non-deadly force self-defense instruction. 309 N.J.Super. 463, 707 A.2d 486 (1998). We granted the State’s petition for certification, 155 N.J. 588, 715 A.2d 991 (1998), and now reverse.

I

Defendant was tried before a jury for…