Hypotheticals

Self-defense Most important justification defense Generally, you have the right to use whatever force is necessary to defend yourself from an unlawful attack You reasonably believe the force was required for your own protection (even if it turns out it wasn’t) The threatened harm was about to happen and the attacker was willing and able to injure you. The force used in self-defense was reasonable – no more than what was necessary to prevent your injury

Self defense law developed before police force Deadly force must only be used in self-defense when you reasonably believe The attacker was about to either kill you or inflict great bodily harm The deadly force was the only way to prevent that harm Self defense law developed before police force People were expected to attempt to reach a safe location before defending themselves using deadly force People are obligated to retreat, except when attacked in their homes

Defense of others – someone defends another as they would themselves Defense of property – can defend property with deadly force if being threatened with deadly force in attempt of burglary or robbery Defense of home – can defend home, but only with deadly force if The intruder is about to unlawfully enter the home Intruder intends to commit felony of injure an occupant of the home Deadly force is necessary to stop the intruder

Domestic abuse as a defense – in domestic cases, the threat must be imminent and the force must be only what is necessary to save oneself Insanity Controversial Normal people choose to obey the law Insanity as a legal defense is not the same as the typical definition of insanity

The M’Naghten Rule (used by half the states) – says that because of a mental illness, defendants did not know what they were doing or they did not know it was wrong. – does not protect those who cannot control their actions (1843) Irresistible Impulse Rule – crime was committed due to an insane impulse that controlled their will (Parsons v. Alabama, 1887) Durham Rule (NH only) – defendants must prove the crime was “the product of a mental disease or defect” (Durham v. US, 1954)

Model Penal Code Test or substantial capacity Model Penal Code Test or substantial capacity test (almost half the states) – defendants determined insane if they: Lacked substantial capacity to appreciate criminality of their conduct Lacked substantial capacity to conform their conduct to the law (Model Penal Code, 4.01) If successful with this defense, defendants usually go to mental hospitals until they can prove they are sane and no longer pose a threat to society

Guilty but Mentally Ill Insanity defense rarely used – only raised in 1% of cases and only successful in about one quarter of these cases Guilty but Mentally Ill Defendant not legally insane but was mentally ill when committing the crime Insanity defense unsuccessful but jury recognizes mental illness Prison sentence served in mental hospital ID, KS, UT, and MT have eliminated insanity as a defense

Entrapment Duty of officers is to prevent, not punish, crime First successful entrapment defense occurred during Prohibition (1932) Subjective test for entrapment used by fed and most state courts – requires the police lure the subject into committing the crime and the defendant was not predisposed to commit the crime (subjective because of predisposition) Objective test requires police lure defendant into committing crime by doing something that creates a substantial risk for the commission of an offense by those willing to commit it

DeLorean case succeeded Abscam operation – FBI received information that certain Congressmen were receiving bribes They invented a phone Arab sheik that offered bribes to these men The operation was filmed, and the entrapment defense failed because the FBI presented an opportunity but did not make the men accept the bribes DeLorean case succeeded DeLorean left Ford and started making his own cars Due to a gas crisis, the did not sell well Government agents approached him with a deal to import $24 million in cocaine and filmed his acceptance Lawyers argued DeLorean had a clean record, unreliable witnesses, and entrapment

Common sting operations include Prostitution and drugs Fake pawnshops Decoy cars Fake websites Phony ads