State v. Anaya

WATHEN, Justice.

In the Superior Court (Cumberland County), defendant Linda Anaya was found guilty of manslaughter, 17-A M.R.S.A. § 203 (Supp. 1981). Her appeal from this jury verdict assigns numerous claims of error. Since we find that the presiding justice committed reversible error in excluding testimony relating to the “battered wife syndrome,” we sustain the appeal and vacate the judgment of conviction.

I

On April 9, 1980, shortly after midnight, Brunswick Police responded to a report of a stabbing at the defendant’s apartment. They found Frank Williams, defendant’s lover, lying on the…