CJL4110 Quiz 3 Review Chapter Eight Justi cations Af rmative Defenses Introduction Prosecutors must overcome the presumption of innocence of the defendant and prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt o Presumption of innocence An individual is presumed to be not guilty and the burden is on the government to establish guilt o Case in chief The prosecution s phase at trial o Rebuttal The defense case at trial Defendants can present affirmative defenses which justi es or excuses their acts o Affirmative defense the burden of production and in most cases the burden or persuasion in on the defendant When putting an affirmative defense forward the burdens of production and persuasion are moved to the defense o Burden of Production responsibility to produce sufficient evidence for the fact finder to consider the merits of a claim o Burden of Persuasion responsibility to convince the fact finder usually beyond a reasonable doubt Justi cation defenses make the case that otherwise criminal acts are approved of and encouraged by society given the circumstances self defense o Justification A defense based on the circumstances of a criminal act Excuse defenses make the case that the act does deserve condemnation but the defendant should not be held liable due to a personal disability infancy or insanity o Excuse defenses in which defendants admit wrongful conduct while claiming a lack of legal responsibility based on a lack of a criminal intent or the involuntary nature of their acts At common law a successful justi cation defense resulted in an acquittal At common law a successful excuse defense provided the defendant an opportunity to request that the king exempt defendant from the death penalty Many theories exist for the justi cation defense o Moral Interest an individual s act is justified based on the protection of an important moral interest Self defense o Superior Interest the interests being preserved outweigh the interests of the person who is harmed Captain throwing luggage off ship to save crew from sinking o Public Bene t an individual s act is justified on the grounds that it is undertaken in service of the public good Law enforcement using deadly force o Moral Forfeiture an individual perpetrating a crime has lost the right to claim legal protection Dangerous aggressor justifiably killed in self defense A perfect defense satis es every necessary element of an af rmative defense Imperfect defenses satisfy only some of the elements thus providing mitigating circumstances Excessive force in self defense Mitigating Circumstances Some evidence may not be relevant for an excuse or justi cation defense however it may be considered during sentencing to reduce the defendant s punishment The so called good motive defense is not a legitimate defense when deciding guilt but can be considered as a mitigating circumstance at sentencing o Good Motive defense the fact that a defendant committed a crime for what he or she views as a good reason is not recognized as a defense In a case of overwhelming mitigating circumstances some attorneys will push the jury to exercise their right of jury nulli cation where they acquit a guilty yet overly sympathetic defendant o Jury Nullification right of a jury to disregard the law and to acquit a defendant Self Defense While the United States is a government of law rather than men and women and vigilante justice is strongly discouraged self defense of an innocent victim is a legitimate defense at trial Common law recognizes these seven components of self defense o Reasonable Belief An individual must possess a reasonable belief that force is required to defend himself or herself or another victim defense of others o Necessity Defender must reasonable believe that force is required to prevent the imminent and unlawful in iction of death or serious bodily harm o Proportionality Force employed must not be excessive under the circumstances o Retreat Deadly force may not be used if a defender can safely and reasonably retreat o Aggressor An aggressor usually cannot claim self defense in the event that the original victim ghts back o Mistake If the belief of the need of force is mistaken self defense can still be used if the belief was reasonable o Imperfect Self defense By means of the imperfect self defense doctrine used in some states if a person honestly yet unreasonably believes that a situation calls for lethal self defense the defender will be held liable for manslaughter as opposed to murder Reasonable Belief There are two standards used to determine whether an individual claiming to have acted in self defense actually did so the subjective and objective tests o Subjectively a defendant must demonstrate an honest belief that he or she confronted an imminent attack o Objectively a defendant must demonstrate that a reasonable person under the same circumstances would have believed that he or she confronted an imminent attack Imminence reasons A defendant must reasonably believe that the threatened harm is imminent for three o Resolution of Disputes The law encourages peaceful resolutions of disputes whenever possible o Last Resort Individuals should only resort to self help as a last resort o Evidence The existence of a clear and measurable threat provides that the defendant is acting out of genuine self defense and that the defensive response is proportional to the threatened harm Excessive Force harm When acting in self defense individuals cannot use excessive force Deadly force can only be used in self defense when under risk of death or substantial o Deadly Force for a reasonable person under the circumstances would be aware will cause or create a substantial risk of death or substantial bodily harm o Non deadly Force use of physical force or weapon that is not likely to cause death or serious injury Retreat Most jurisdictions do not require the defendant to retreat to the wall even when deadly force is required in defense o Retreat to the wall obligation to withdraw from a conflict while indicating a desire to avoid a confrontation o Stand your ground law no requirement to retreat In order to stand ground and not retreat when utilizing non deadly force the individual must be without fault a k a a true man o True man an individual without fault who is able to rely on self defense Aggressors employing non deadly force must clearly abandon the struggle and withdraw in good faith o Withdrawal in good faith individuals involved in a fight may gain the right