1. Defense
KRS 503, ,

2. Defense
A denial, answer, or plea opposing the truth or validity of the plaintiff’s case.

3. Objective
I can list and describe the four general categories of criminal defense.
I can analyze a situation to determine whether a successful defense is available.

4. No Crime has been committed
Defendant can show that no crime was committed Or
Defendant can show that there was no criminal intent

5. Defendant did not commit the crime
Defendant can show there was a mistake in identity
Defendant can provide proof that he could not have committed the crime (alibi)

6. Defendant committed a criminal act, but the act was excusable or justified.
When
Self-defense
Defense of Property
Defense of another person
Limitations
Reasonable force must be used for all three
Reasonable belief in imminent threat of harm
Deadly Force
Deadly force only when belief in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

7. Defendant committed a criminal act but is not criminally responsible for his or her actions.
Infancy – see juvenile code
Intoxication
Drunk or high that defendant does not know what they did
Cannot be voluntary intoxication
Unless used to show incapable of producing necessary mental state.
Insanity
Inability to distinguish between right and wrong due to mental disease or defect.
Substantial capacity
Whether the defendant is competent to stand trial
Whether the defendant was sane at the time of the criminal act
Whether the defendant is sane after the trial
Insanity defense only applies if the accused was insane at the time of the crime.

8. Continued Duress Entrapment Necessity
Commits wrongdoing as a result of coercion or a threat of immediate danger to life or personal
Entrapment
Defendant committing a criminal act that he or she was induced, or persuaded, to commit by a law enforcement officer.
Necessity
Compelled to react to a situation that is unavoidable in order to protect life.

9. Self-Defense Elements
Attack on the defendant must be unprovoked.
Did not cause or invite the attack
Throwing the first punch
Threatening or taunting
Attack must be imminent (in progress or obviously about to occur)
At the time in which protection from the state is not available
Force used as a defense is reasonably necessary to repel the attack.
Dead force is justifiable against an attack that appears to threaten life or cause serious injury.
Seriousness of attack and belief in necessity of defensive force must be reasonable.
Size, age, physical ability of the attacker and whether the attacker is armed or has a history

10. Self-Defense Continued
Imperfect
Retreat
One of the elements in a perfect defense (self- dense) is missing.
Attack is likely to cause death or serious injury, requiring deadly force (AND)
Retreat in COMPLETE safety must be possible.
Under the castle doctrine, defenders need not retreat from an intruder in his/her own home.

11. Homework: Answer and be ready to discuss
Do you think the “objective” definition of “reasonable” in the Goetz case in New York would be different from that in a quiet, small town? Do you think Goetz was entitled to a self-defense claim? Do you think Goetz’s self-defense was “premeditated”?