Preview:

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Carroll No. 2007-500 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. ANTHONY BALLIRO Argued: September 16, 2008 Opinion Issued: October 30, 2008 Kelly A. Ayotte, attorney general (Thomas E. Bocian, attorney, on the brief and orally), for the State. Christopher M. Johnson, chief appellate defender, of Concord, on the brief and orally, for the defendant. HICKS, J. The defendant, Anthony Balliro, appeals a ruling by the Superior Court (Fitzgerald, J.) denying a jury instruction for the justified use of deadly force to "prevent an attempt by the trespasser to commit arson." See RSA 627:7 (2007). We affirm. The jury could have found the following relevant facts. The defendant stabbed Steven Hayes five times on July 5, 2006, causing his death. On this same day, emergency personnel responded to fires at the defendant's restaurant and his apartment building. At trial, the State and the defendant offered disparate accounts of the events leading up to the stabbing and the two fires.

The State portrayed the defendant's rapidly deteriorating circumstances at the time of the stabbing and emphasized his past threats of violence and arson. He had been asked to move out of his apartment due to unpaid rent, and his restaurant

Download 2007-500, STATE OF NH v. ANTHONY BALLIRO.pdf

New Hampshire Law