Defenses Flashcards
Self defense: non-deadly force
A victim is entitled to use non-deadly force any time she reasonably fears imminent unlawful harm.
Self defense: deadly force
A victim is entitled to use deadly force only if she reasonably believes that:
(1) Deadly force will be used against him;
(2) Under the MPC, that the crime will result in serious bodily injury.
Rape is an inherently dangerous felony involving a serious risk of serious injury or death, and thus it gives rise to justified use of deadly force in self defense.
Self defense: duty to retreat
(1) Majority rule: Retreat is not required even when a victim is entitled to use deadly force;
(2) Minority rule: The victim must retreat rather than using deadly force if it is safe to do so.
Self defense: in the home (“castle doctrine”)
Even in minority duty-to-retreat jurisdictions, there is never a duty to retreat when the person employing deadly force is in her home.
Self defense: others
An individual has the same right to defend other individuals against a criminal that she has to defend herself.
Defense of property
There is only a right to use non-deadly force to protect property.
Duress
Duress is available for crimes other than intentional murder.
If the defendant establishes a threat of death or serious harm, she can claim the defense if she committed the crime only because of:
(1) A threat from a third party, and;
(2) A reasonable belief that the only way to avoid death or injury (to herself or others) was to commit the crime.
Necessity
The defense is available in response to natural forces, i.e., the crime was the lesser of two evils.
E.g.: After a hurricane, breaking into a neighbor’s house to access potable water in order to survive.
Factual impossibility
A factual impossibility occurs when, at the time of the attempt, the facts make the intended crime impossible to commit although the defendant is unaware of this when the attempt is made.
Factual impossibility, however, is not a defense to the crime of attempt.
Legal impossibility
If the act intended is not a crime, then the defendant is not guilty of attempt.
Affirmative defenses: mistake of law
As with a mistake of law regarding whether conduct constitutes a crime, a mistake of law as to the existence of a defense generally does not permit a defendant to raise the defense.
But when the defense turns on the existence of a material element—e.g., the existence of a privilege to use force to reclaim property—and the defendant’s honestly held mistake of law negates the required mental state for that element, the defendant may assert the defense.
Defense of arrest
A civilian can assert the defense of arrest—e.g., use of reasonable force to stop a perpetrator from escaping.
Imperfect self defense
Where recognized, imperfect self defense applies when a defendant honestly but unreasonably believes that another person’s actions represent an immediate threat.
Imperfect self defense reduces a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter.
