Justification and Exemptions from Criminal Responsibility (18-1, Article Part 7) to include Use of Force by peace officers (18-1-707) Flashcards
(1) Unless inconsistent with other provisions of sections 18-1-703 to 18-1-707 , defining justifiable use of physical force, or with some other provision of law, conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal when it is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or developed through no conduct of the actor, and which is of sufficient gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense in issue.
(2) The necessity and justifiability of conduct under subsection (1) of this section shall not rest upon considerations pertaining only to the morality and advisability of the statute, either in its general application or with respect to its application to a particular class of cases arising thereunder. When evidence relating to the defense of justification under this section is offered by the defendant, before it is submitted for the consideration of the jury, the court shall first rule as a matter of law whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute a justification.
18-1-702 Choice of Evils
(1) The use of physical force upon another person which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal under any of the following circumstances:
(a) A parent, guardian, or other person entrusted with the care and supervision of a minor or incompetent person, and a teacher entrusted with the care and supervision of a minor, may use reasonable and appropriate physical force.
(b) A superintendent or other authorized official of a jail, prison, or correctional institution may, in order to maintain order and discipline, use reasonable and appropriate physical force
(c) A person responsible for the maintenance of order in a common carrier of passengers, or a person acting under his direction, may use reasonable and appropriate physical force when and to the extent that it is necessary to maintain order and discipline
(d) A person acting under a reasonable belief that another person is about to commit suicide or to inflict serious bodily injury upon himself may use reasonable and appropriate physical force upon that person to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to thwart the result.
(e) A duly licensed physician, advanced practice nurse, or a person acting under his or her direction, may use reasonable and appropriate physical force for the purpose of administering a recognized form of treatment
18-1-703 Use of physical force — Special relationships
(1) a person is justified in using physical force upon another person in order to defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and he may use a degree of force which he reasonably believes to be necessary for that purpose.
(2) Deadly physical force may be used only if a person reasonably believes a lesser degree of force is inadequate: READ THE STATUTE FOR THE ADDIDITIONAL SECTIONS.
18-1-704 Use of physical force in defense of a person
- The intruder illegally enters a home (“dwelling”);
- The victim has reasonable grounds to believe that the intruder committed or
intends to commit a crime in the home (other than the intrusion); and - The victim has reasonable grounds to believe the intruder may use any degree of physical force against him-/herself or another occupant in the home.
18-1-704.5 Use of deadly physical force against an intruder (Make My Day Law)
A person in possession or control of any building, realty, or other premises, or a person who is licensed or privileged to be thereon, is justified in using reasonable and appropriate physical force upon another person when and to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to prevent or terminate what he reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted commission of an unlawful trespass by the other person in or upon the building, realty, or premises. However, he may use deadly force only in defense of himself or another as described in section 18-1-704 , or when he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent what he reasonably believes to be an attempt by the trespasser to commit first degree arson.
18-1-705 Use of physical force in defense of premises
A person is justified in using reasonable and appropriate physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent what he reasonably believes to be an attempt by the other person to commit theft, criminal mischief, or criminal tampering involving property, but he may use deadly physical force under these circumstances only in defense of himself or another as described in section 18-1-704.
18-1-706 Use of physical force in defense of property
(1) (a) To effect an arrest or prevent the escape from custody of an arrested person unless he knows the arrest in unauthorized.
(b) To defend himself or a third person from what he reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of physical force.
(2) A peace officer is justified in using deadly force when reasonably believes that it is necessary:
(a) To defend himself or a third person
(b) To effect an arrest, or prevent the escape from custody of a person. SEE STATUTE FOR ADDITIONAL SECTIONS
18-1-707 Use of physical force in making an arrest or in preventing an escape–definitions
A person may not be convicted of an offense, other than a class 1 felony, based upon conduct in which he engaged at the direction of another person because of the use or threatened use of unlawful force upon him or upon another person, which force or threatened use thereof a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist. This defense is not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places himself in a situation in which it is foreseeable that he will be subjected to such force or threatened use thereof. The choice of evils defense, provided in section 18-1-702 , shall not be available to a defendant in addition to the defense of duress provided under this section unless separate facts exist which warrant its application.
18-1-708 Duress
The commission of acts which would otherwise constitute an offense is not criminal if the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement official or other person acting under his direction, seeking to obtain evidence for the purpose of prosecution, and the methods used to obtain that evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the acts would be committed by a person who, but for such inducement, would not have conceived of or engaged in conduct of the sort induced. Merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment even though representations or inducements calculated to overcome the offender’s fear of detection are used.
18-1-709 Entrapment
