1 Maine Jury Instruction Manual § 6-60A
Maine Jury Instruction ManualCHAPTER 6 REPRESENTATIVE CRIMINAL INSTRUCTIONS
§ 6-60A Protection of Property: Non-Deadly Force. Instruction.
A person in possession or control [of an item of property] is justified in using non-deadly force upon another person when and to the extent that she reasonably believes it necessary to prevent the other person from damaging or destroying that property [and she does not know that the other person is authorized to seize, damage, or destroy the property].
Because the evidence generates an issue of whether the defendant was acting to prevent damage to her property, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the defendant was not acting to prevent damage to her property; or [(2) the defendant knew that the person was authorized to seize, damage, or destroy the property; or] (3) the defendant’s beliefs that led to her actions, when viewed in light of the nature and purpose of the defendant’s conduct and the circumstances known to the defendant, were a gross deviation from what a reasonable and prudent person would believe in the same situation.
1 Maine Jury Instruction Manual § 6-60A (2019)