1. Justification Defenses
Affirmative Defenses
Justification Defenses
Defenses for crimes!

2. What is it?
A claim that the defendant did it, but because of circumstances, they should not be punished.
The defendant has the burden of proof.

3. Entrapment
Encouraged to commit a crime the defendant wouldn’t commit otherwise
Police must do more than provide opportunity
Predisposition

4. Self-Defense To prove self-defense the defendant must show:
Reasonable belief force was required for protection
Immediate danger of harm or crime
Force used must be proportionate to the threat
Defense of others/ of home/ of property
Defense of other is the same as defending yourself

5. Necessity A crime to avoid a greater evil
Reasonable belief of a imminent threat or crime
Must not have created the conditions of his own dilemma
No reasonable alternative- couldn’t accomplish the same objective with a legal alternative
Deadly forces can’t be used in a non-deadly attack

6. Duress
A crime that was forced due fear of immediate injury/ other consequences.
Doctrine of Duress:
Imminent threat of serious bodily harm or death
A well founded fear the threat would be carried out
No reasonable chance to escape or frustrate that threat
Not of his/her own doing
Criminal acts must be voluntary

8. QUESTIONS
Two brothers, 8 and 5, just finished watching an old, western movie. Later, while playing cowboys and Indians, the 8 year old gets his father’s gun from the dresser and while pretending to shoot his brother, the gun went off, and his brother was killed. Did the 8 year old commit murder?
Should a 10 year old charged with murder be tried as an adult and, if convicted, receive an adult sentence?

9. To be convicted of a crime, the defendant must demonstrate capacity and the ability to be responsible.
Lack of capacity:
Infancy
Insanity
Intoxication

10. Infancy Defendant is too young to understand crime or its consequences
Usually under 14… juvenile system

11. Insanity Successful in less than 1% of cases!
If found guilty by reason of insanity, must be incarcerated in a psych. facility until deemed not to pose a danger to society
M’Naughten Test:
Didn’t understand what they were doing and/ or didn’t know that the crime was wrong defect of reason
Durham: (vague, so only used by NH)
Act was caused by mental illness/ disease/ or defect
Model Penal Code:
Don’t know conduct is wrong

12. Intoxication Involuntarily/ unknowingly ingested Not self inflicted
Person was “drugged”
Took meds and had a highly unlikely and unforeseeable reaction