Self Defense

Self-defense: defense based on justification

  • can be a defense to assault, battery, and criminal homicide because it always involves the use of force

  • most states: a statutory defense

Deadly force: any force that could potentially kill

  • individual doesn’t have to die for the force to be considered deadly

  • ex) use of knife, gun, vehicle, or bare hands when there’s a disparity in size between two individuals

Self-defense can be a perfect or imperfect defense —

  • defendants who commit criminal homicide justified by self defense can be acquitted OR have a murder charge reduced from 1st to 2nd degree OR have a charge reduced from murder to manslaughter

To successfully claim self-defense

  1. Defendant must prove that he or she was confronted with an unprovoked attack

  2. Defendant must prove that the threat of injury or death was imminent

  3. Def must prove that the degree of force used in self-defense was objectively reasonable under the circumstances

  4. Def must prove that he or she had an objectively reasonable fear that he or she was going to be injured or killed unless he or she used self-defense

Provocation

  • if the def initiates an attack against another, the defendant cannot claim self-defense

  • Two exceptions:

    1. if the attacked individual responds with excessive force under the circumstances

    2. if the def withdraws from the attack and the attacked individual persists

  • 1) Excessive Force Exception:

  • 2) Withdrawal exception:

Imminence

  • Imminent: the attack is immediate and not something that will occur in the future

  • When the def uses force to remedy a previous attack, this is retaliatory, and a self-defense claim is not appropriate

  • Ex) battered wide defense — def (battered wife) can legally use force against her abusive husband in self-defense in situations where harm is not necessarily immediate

Proportionality

  • def cannot claim self-defense unless the degree or force used is objectively reasonable under the circumstances

    • primarily focuses on the use of deadly force and when it is legally justified

    • Serious bodily injury and serious felony are technical terms — depend on jurisdiction

Duty to Retreat

  • Common law: def had a duty to retreat to the wall before using deadly force against an attacker

    • often rejected — instead allow def to stand his or her ground if the def is not the initial aggressor

  • Retreat doctrine: def must retreat if there is an objectively reasonable belief that the attacker will cause death or serious bodily injury, and a retreat won’t unreasonably increase the likelihood of death or serious bodily injury

  • Exception to retreat doctrine — Castle doctrine — defense of a home