Self Defence Flashcards
Duffy
Recognise people can act to protect themselves
Williams
Can protect others
Hussey
Can protect a property
Act
S3 (1) criminal law act
Def
Person may use force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders unlawfully at large
Property
S 5 crim damages act
Defence of a property where the charge is one of simple criminal damage
Keane
Need both common law and stat
Morris
Can be relived on where d uses force to prevent other types of crime
Bayer
Defence of property can’t be used if no unlawful act committed. Must use reasonable force against damage that constituted a criminal act
Riddell
Can be used for dangerous driving only when force is involved
Oraki
Self defence not available for obstructing police officer
Gendered nature
Need for force to be imminent which may be issue with women.
Women use weapons in order to defend themselves against the disproportionate force of men. This can be seen as excessive force
Edwards
Janet gardiner
Killed partner when he attacked her. Provocation raised instantly not self defence
Barry crane
Shot and killed a man in an argument. V lunged at crane w a knife so crane shot him twice with an already loaded gun prepared after a previous argument w the v. Fiend for possessing fire arm and that’s it.
McClogan argument of battered woman
Many women faced with no realistic alternative to the use of force against abusive partners.
Render women hostage of domestic violence and make escape through violence.
Should have more support
Self defence is reasonanle when the violence is proportionate. Battered women necessary to use violence
Collins
Higher margin of appreciation as long as they don’t act in a grossly disproportionate manner
Andronciou
Force must be absolutely necessary
Elements of defence
Force must be necessary (subjective)
Amount of force must be reasonable (objective)
Bird
Must not act in revenge
Hussain
Broke into house then threatened with weapons. Victim was only one that committed crime in the house. Crime ended when he left the house. Any attack after leaving the hose was unlawful - revenge q
Dadson
Constable shot criminal whilst he was running away. Don’t know at the time he was a felon and couldn’t be justified
Julian
Not duty to retreat
Should demonstrate in his actions that he doesn’t want to fight
Imminence
This excludes an attack at some future point. Imminent really means ‘fairly immediate’ so that although an attack need not have begun, a confrontation does need to be immediately apprehended.
Beckford
police officer claimed victim had a gun and would shoot. A man who attacks does not need to wait for him to be attacked first
Devlin v Armstrong
Anticipated attack must be immi
AGR
made petrol bombs at a time where riots were taking place. Made them to defend himself. the object for which he had made the petrol bombs (ie self-defence) was lawful under Explosive substances Act 1883 but he had committed another offence under the Explosive Substances Act 1876 of manufacturing and storing explosives without a licence
Williams
Mistaken belief
We judge D according to his view of the facts even if he turns out to be mistaken
– subjective test
A genuine belief – need not be reasonable
Yaman
D believed he was being burgled. They were contracted workers with a warrant and legal right to be in his shop. Challenge to judge’s direction as it invited jury to consider whether D’s mistaken belief was reasonable
Hooper LJ: The trigger for using force is assessed subjectively [and there was no dispute that the appellant believed the 3 men were burglars]
O’grady
If mistaken belief is induced by voluntary intoxication then can’t rely on defence
Reasonable force
Objective test
Distinguish between householder and non householder cases
Ag for ni
What amount of force is reasonable in the circumstances is a question for the jury. The jury should consider the circumstances in which the decision to defend oneself is made and remember that this decision is not made in the calm analytical atmosphere of the court room with the benefit of hindsight but in a brief second or two.
Palmer
If a jury thought that in a moment of unexpected anguish a person attacked had only done what he honestly and instinctively thought was necessary that would be most potent evidence that only reasonable defensive action had been taken.
Owino
A D must be judged in accordance with his honest belief …but the jury must then decide whether the force used was reasonable in the circumstances as he believed them to be
S76 5(A) crim justice immigration act
(5A) In a householder case, the degree of force used by D is not to be regarded as having been reasonable in the circumstances as D believed them to be if it was grossly disproportionate in those circumstances.
Day
guest in a property equivalent to a householder
Shaw
(1) Did D honestly believe that it was necessary to defend themself? (2) If so, and taking the circumstances and danger as the defendant honestly believed them to be, was the amount of force reasonable?
Martin
Can take into account physical characteristics but …[only] in exceptional circumstances …in deciding whether excessive force has been used … take account of psychiatric condition
Ove
An insane person cannot set their own standard of reasonableness as to the degree of force
Keane (provoked)
Self defence may arise in the case of an original aggressor but only where the violence offered by V was so out of proportion to what the original aggressor did that in effect the roles were reversed
