City of Jamestown v. Kastet, 970 N.W.2d 187

Kastet and Fuchs exchanged messages about a woman; they confronted each other at a Jamestown bar and agreed to go outside to fight.
Video shows Kastet head-butt and punch Fuchs; Kastet was charged with simple assault under Jamestown ordinance (identical to state statute).
At trial Kastet requested jury instructions on consent and self-defense; the district court denied both requests.
The district court relied on authorities and policy (including out-of-state cases) to deny consent instruction and viewed video evidence to deny self-defense.
A jury convicted Kastet; the North Dakota Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding the court erred in refusing both instructions.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether consent instruction should have been given	Consent is not a defense when assault violates the public peace; instruction inappropriate here	Fuchs agreed to fight; consent negates simple assault unless injury jeopardizes life/seriously impairs health	Reversed: evidence, viewed favorably to Kastet, supported consent instruction; jury must decide consent and severity of injury
Whether self-defense instruction should have been given	Kastet was initial aggressor; beliefs were unreasonable; video shows he could have walked away	Kastet reasonably felt intimidated and believed imminent harm justified defensive force	Reversed: sufficient evidence of a reasonable belief; trial judge impermissibly evaluated evidence; jury must decide self-defense

State v. Martinez, 865 N.W.2d 391 (N.D. 2015) (jury instructions must correctly and adequately state the law)
State v. Thiel, 411 N.W.2d 66 (N.D. 1987) (defendant entitled to instruction on a legal defense if evidence supports it)
State v. Olander, 575 N.W.2d 658 (N.D. 1998) (self-defense is a defense, not an affirmative defense)
State v. Leidholm, 334 N.W.2d 811 (N.D. 1983) (subjective-reasonableness standard for self-defense)
State v. Schumaier, 603 N.W.2d 882 (N.D. 1999) (defenses may be asserted even when crime is against the public peace)
City of Jamestown v. Casarez, 958 N.W.2d 467 (N.D. 2021) (municipal ordinance must conform to state criminal law)
Strauss v. United States, 376 F.2d 416 (5th Cir. 1967) (trial judge may not evaluate evidence to strip a jury of a defense issue)