Affirnative defense Flashcards
Is an albi an affirmative defense and what is the standard of review?
No. The standard is reasonable doubt.
What is needed for a self-defense to a murder charge?
To succeed in a claim of self-defense to a murder charge, the defendant must show that the defendant believed that the action taken was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself from unlawful force and that the belief was reasonable. The question itself indicated that not only did the police officer believe that the stranger was going to kill him, but also that that belief was reasonable. Therefore, the police officer’s self-defense claim should be sustained.
B is incorrect. It deals with the difference at common law between murder and manslaughter and does not involve the police officer’s self-defense claim at all.
C is incorrect. This answer choice is contradicted by the wording in the question. The question states that the police officer’s belief that the stranger was going to kill him was reasonable. In addition, the actual intent of the stranger, as well as the question of whether the police officer’s reasonable belief was, in reality, correct, would not enter into the deliberation regarding the propriety of the police officer’s self-defense claim.
D is incorrect. This answer is also contradicted by the wording of the question, which clearly indicates that the police officer’s belief that using deadly force was “his only salvation” was also reasonable. The threat to the police officer was immediate and deadly, thereby allowing his self-defense claim to succeed. The police officer was not required to retreat or repel with less than deadly force. He only shot the stranger because he reasonably believed that it was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm from the stranger’s unlawful use of force, so his claim of self-defense should be sustained.
