A state appellate court unanimously overturned Thursday the conviction of a Massena man accused of violating a protection order and directed a new trial be held.

Ronald W. Dillon Jr., 30, was sentenced April 30, 2007, to 11/3 to 3 years in state prison on a charge of first-degree criminal contempt in St. Lawrence County Court. He is an inmate at Wyoming Correctional Facility, defense attorneys said.

He was accused of violating a protection order during a Feb. 26, 2006, domestic dispute with his girlfriend, Kimberly L. Kemison.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Albany ruled a justification defense should have been allowed to be presented during trial. County Judge Jerome J. Richards presided over the trial and denied the request.

Mr. Dillon and Ms. Kemison were long-time lovers who lived together at times during a relationship marked by domestic violence. After two domestic disputes in November 2005, a protection order was issued against Mr. Dillon that didn't include a stay-away provision, according to court documents. The order said he couldn't initiate "assaultive or destructive conduct" to her.

Ms. Kemison was driven to her apartment on Feb. 26, 2006, after drinking at area bars to pick up an item before heading to an after-hours party, but encountered Mr. Dillon, who she thought wasn't home. She didn't want him to see a male friend who was in the vehicle, so she jumped on Mr. Dillon's back, according to court documents.

The defense asserted Ms. Kemison, who was by her own admission "drunk" and "wasted," was the aggressor and Mr. Dillon "responded in a justified fashion under the circumstances by throwing her off his back" and didn't violate the protection order.

The court said in its decision that "since the victim's initial testimony was consistent with this theory and she did not thereafter recant or clearly explain it, there was a reasonable view of the evidence that the only physical force employed on that evening toward the victim was his effort to remove her from his back."

Defense attorneys Robert H. and Steven G. Ballan said Thursday the judge made a mistake and Mr. Dillon shouldn't have been sent to prison.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Nicole M. Duvé said her office will review its options in the case.