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Justifications

Chapter 8

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Introduction

  • The prosecutor’s burden

The American legal system is based on the presumption of innocence

A defendant may not be compelled to testify against himself

The prosecution is required as a matter of the due process of law to establish every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt to establish guilt

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Introduction

  • The prosecutor’s burden

A defendant is to be acquitted if the prosecution fails to establish each element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Introduction

  • Affirmative defenses

Defendants may present affirmative defenses, or defenses in which the defendant typically possesses the burden of production as well as the burden of persuasion

Justifications and excuses are both affirmative defenses

Assigns responsibility for raising a defense to the defendant

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Introduction

  • Affirmative defenses

Justification defenses

Make the case that otherwise criminal acts are approved of and encouraged by society, given the circumstances

Excuse defenses

Make the case that the act does deserve condemnation but the defendant should not be held liable due to a personal disability

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Mitigating Circumstances

  • Evidence that is not relevant for justification or excuse may still be relied on during the sentencing stage as a mitigating circumstance that may reduce a defendant’s punishment
  • The jury in death penalty cases is required to consider mitigating and aggravating circumstances in determining whether the defendant should be subject to capital punishment or receive a life sentence
  • The law is concerned with what crime an individual committed, not why he or she committed the crime

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Self-Defense

  • Vigilante justice is discouraged
  • However, self-defense (of an innocent victim) is a legitimate defense
  • Self-defense is recognized as a defense in all 50 states

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Self-Defense

  • The central components of self-defense

Reasonable belief

Necessity

Proportionality

Retreat

Aggressor

Mistake

Imperfect self-defense

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

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Self-Defense

  • Reasonable belief

Two-pronged test

Subjective

  • A defendant must demonstrate an honest belief that he or she confronted an imminent attack

Objective

  • A defendant must demonstrate that a reasonable person under the same circumstances would have believed that he or she confronted an imminent attack

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Self-Defense

  • Imminence

A defendant must believe that the harm is about to happen immediately

This rule is based on numerous considerations

Law encourages peaceful resolution of disputes when possible

Individuals should only resort to self-help where strictly required

Evidence considerations—a clear threat helps in determining the proportionality between the threatened harm and the defensive response

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Self-Defense

  • Excessive force

An individual may only use the force reasonably necessary to defend himself

Deadly force may be employed to protect against death or serious bodily harm

  • Retreat

Retreat to the wall

Stand your ground

Castle doctrine

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Defense of Others

  • Common law

Limited the privilege to protection of spouses, family, employees, and employers

  • Modern approach

Reasonable person test or objective test for intervention in defense of others

  • Remember, you may intervene to protect another but are not necessarily required to intervene

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Defense of the Home

  • The home has historically been viewed as a place of safety, security, and shelter
  • There is no uniform approach today, and statutes typically limit deadly force to those situations in which deadly force is reasonably believed to be required to prevent the entry of an intruder who is reasonably believed to intend to commit “a felony” in the dwelling
  • Some states have “make my day laws”

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Execution of Public Duties

  • The enforcement of criminal law requires that the police detain, arrest, and incarcerate individuals and seize and secure property
  • This interference with life, liberty, and property would ordinarily constitute a criminal offense. The law, however, provides a defense to individuals executing public duties
  • This is based on a judgment that the public interest in the enforcement of the law justifies intruding on individual liberty

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Resisting Unlawful Arrests

  • English common law recognized the right to resist an unlawful arrest by reasonable force
  • The English common law rule was recognized as the law in 45 states as late as 1963. Today, only 12 states continue to recognize the English rule and have not adopted the American rule for resistance to an unlawful arrest
  • Some states use the English rule instead of the above

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Necessity

  • The necessity defense recognizes that conduct that would otherwise be criminal is justified when undertaken to prevent a significant harm
  • This is commonly called “the choice of evils” because individuals are confronted with the unhappy choice between committing a crime or experiencing a harmful event
  • Roughly one-half of the states possess necessity statutes and the other jurisdictions rely on the common law defense of necessity

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

Consent

  • Typically, consent from a victim is not a defense
  • Exceptions

Incidental contact

Contact resulting from sporting events

Socially beneficial activity

  • When it is a valid defense

Person giving it must have legal capacity

Must not have been tricked by fraud or deceit

Must have given permission before the event

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019

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Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e

SAGE Publishing, 2019

Lippman, Contemporary Criminal Law, 5e SAGE Publishing, 2019