Summary of State v. Abbott, Supreme Court of New Jersey (1961)

This case does not really work with our regular case briefing format so this is why we are just asserting a summary of the decision.

The defendant got in an altercation with his neighbors and the issue here was whether the trial court judge read the proper instructions to the jury about the principle of retreat. The court here ruled that the principle of retreat only applies to situations where the defendant uses deadly force. The court further ruled that a person is guilty of not retreating when he knows that he can avoid the use of deadly force with complete safety and he still stands his grounds and uses such force. The court reversed the conviction by ruling that the trial judge’s jury instructions were too confusing for the jury.