State v. Ouellette, 37 A.3d 921

Ouellette was charged in 2010 with assault, reckless conduct, and criminal mischief stemming from an altercation with Mike Nadeau; the mischief charge was dismissed prior to trial pursuant to accord and satisfaction.
During trial, Ouellette claimed self-defense and requested jury instructions on self-defense for both assault and reckless conduct; the court granted for assault but denied for reckless conduct.
The court concluded self-defense was not a viable justification for reckless conduct, and also denied an instruction about the accord and satisfaction.
The jury found Ouellette guilty of reckless conduct and not guilty of assault; sentencing followed.
On appeal, Ouellette challenges the self-defense instruction denial and the failure to inform the jury of the dismissal of the mischief charge; the State argues the errors were harmless.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment, remanding for a new trial on the self-defense issue.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court should have instructed self-defense for reckless conduct	Ouellette	Ouellette	Judgment vacated; remanded for new trial on self-defense instruction
Whether the court should have instructed the jury about the accord and satisfaction	Ouellette	State	Not persuaded; accord and satisfaction instruction rejected

Barretto v. State, 953 A.2d 1138 (Me. 2008) (self-defense instructions; weighing evidence; two-stage analysis)
Forbes, 830 A.2d 417 (Me. 2003) (self-defense for crimes where recklessness suffices)
Sullivan, 695 A.2d 115 (Me. 1997) (self-defense available for crimes lacking criminal negligence as an element)
Soule, 767 A.2d 316 (Me. 2001) (acquittal on one charge can affect conclusions on related charges)
Bard, 793 A.2d 509 (Me. 2002) (self-defense as a valid defense to crimes based on reckless conduct)
Thurston, 969 A.2d 906 (Me. 2009) (standard of review for self-defense in Maine)