State v. Gartland

149 N.J. 456 (1997)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ellen Gartland (D), who had also died by the time of this appeal, had been a victim of long-standing physical and emotional abuse by her husband, John. On February 8, 1993, the two were involved in an argument in their house. The neighbors heard John threaten to kill D. D then retreated to her separate bedroom she had for other ten years. John usually left her alone in there, but this time he followed her in. D asked him to leave, and after he refused and threatened to strike her, D picked up her son's shotgun, and as John lunged at her, she pulled the trigger and John was struck. John eventually died from the gunshot. Immediately following the shooting, D phoned the emergency medical people and the police and admitted to the shooting. During trial, the judge issued a jury instruction that never specifically apprised the jury that it could consider the seventeen years of spousal abuse in determining whether D honestly and reasonably believed that deadly force was necessary to protect herself against her husband. D also objected to the court's intent to charge that D had a duty to retreat before resorting to deadly force as D had occupied the room and that was, in fact, her separate dwelling. D was convicted of reckless manslaughter and sentenced to a five-year term. D eventually died, but the Court held that the appeal was not moot as the wife's duty to retreat in the marital home when attacked by the husband was a matter of significant public importance.