Chapter 15 - Defenses of Justification

Chapter Overview

• Chapter Fifteen discusses legal defenses of justification in criminal law.

• Focus on self-defense, defense of others, defense of property, and the use of force by specific persons including law enforcement.

Learning Objectives

• Understand how law accommodates force used by abuse victims.

• Discuss parental privilege regarding discipline through force.

• Evaluate limits on law enforcement's use of deadly force.

• Explain when force is justifiable in defending property and others.

• Analyze elements of valid self-defense claims: lethal and non-lethal.

Justification Defenses

• Culpability Principle

  • A person must possess blameworthiness to be punished for a crime.

• Nature of Justification Defenses

  • Assert that the defendant was legally privileged to use force.

  • Privilege is not synonymous with a right.

Self-Defense

• Definition

  • Privilege to use reasonable physical force against another person when there is a belief of imminent attack.

Elements of Self-Defense

• Prohibition on Force Usage

  • Cannot use force if the person wrongfully caused the confrontation.

  • Can withdraw if necessary; disproportionate response by the other party matters.

• Initial Aggressor

  • The one who first provokes or attacks is categorized as the initial aggressor.

  • Verbal provocation does not qualify as an affront.

• Unlawful Force

  • Force employed must not be legally unsupported; threat of future harm is inadequate.

• Imminent Necessity

  • Requires a response in defense against an oncoming attack.

  • General proportionality of force is maintained.

  • Deadly force cannot be used against non-deadly force.

• Reasonable Force

  • Force must equate to what is necessary for self-defense.

Use of Deadly Force

• Common Law Rule

  • Deadly force is permissible only against deadly force.

• MPC Rule

  • Allows use of deadly force to counter crimes of grievous injury.

• Consider local jurisdictional rules, such as duties to retreat and warn.

Exceptions to Duty to Retreat

• Various statutes expand the privilege to use deadly force in specific situations:

  • Castle Doctrine

    • In home and possibly business settings; must be reasonable and necessary.

    • Use allowed when belief of intruder committing felony is present. Stand Your Ground Laws Applicable in public spaces; individuals are not required to retreat before using force when they believe it is necessary to prevent imminent harm or death.

  • Make My Day Laws

    • Generally supports assumed reasonableness and necessity in home defenses. These laws often grant individuals the right to use force, including deadly force, against an intruder without the obligation to retreat, reinforcing the notion that homeowners have the right to protect themselves and their property.

  • Stand Your Ground Laws

    • Applies in all locations one is legally allowed to be; must be reasonable and necessary. Most states have switched this from the common law.

Defense of Others

• Similar to self-defense privileges; allows actions to protect others.

• Common Law Mistaken Intervener/Alter-Ego Rule

  • Intervener only has the privileges that the person being defended would have, acting at personal risk.

• Includes reasoning from the MPC rule.

Defense of Property

• Reasonable non-deadly force allowed to avert imminent unlawful interference with property.

• Deadly force usage is prohibited as life is prioritized over property.

Use of Force by Specific Persons

• Addresses unique considerations for certain roles.

Use of Nondeadly Force by Law Enforcement

• Case Law

  • Graham v. Connor (1989): Introduced the "objective reasonableness" standard for police use of force.

  • Schmerber v. California (1966): Blood sample taking without consent; issues during DUI cases.

  • Evolution of the fleeing felon rule into the Tennessee v. Garner (1985) standard.

Use of Force by Abuse Victims

• Battered Woman/Person Syndrome

  • A variant of PTSD linked to abusive intimate relationships.

  • Challenges regarding the "immediate necessity" element in self-defense cases.

  • MPC has expanded approaches to better address situations based on historical violence, psychological impacts, and victims' immediate needs.

Unlawful

Immediacy

Proportional