Exam 4: Justification Defenses

A law enforcement officer confronted with a situation where a suspect may merely be armed justifies deadly force to be used.

According to the Model Penal Code, a person is completely within his or her right to shoot a burglar even though no personal threat exists.

The doctrine that states that a non-aggressor is not required to retreat from his or her home if attacked is known as ____________________.

A person intentionally shoots another person. The victim dies. However, the prosecution fails to prove that the suspect intended to kill the victim. The suspect will be set free.

The necessity defense, also called the ________________ defense, justifies certain types of criminal activity when it cannot be avoided.

The law enforcement defense extends only to those people tasked with and legally authorized to enforce laws. This includes which of the following?

The State of Alaska has what type of castle doctrine law?

It is not always easy to identify the initial aggressor, and it is not always clear what types of behaviors constitute aggressive actions.

Which of the following may be perceived by the courts to be an alternative to self-defense?

Excuse defenses can include which of the following categories?

Jane is an abused wife who does not work and has no other means of income other than the income provided by her husband, John. John is an alcoholic who stops off at a local bar on the way home from work every night to unwind. John always arrives home around 9:00 p.m. intoxicated from his nightly binge. As soon as he walks in the door he begins to beat his wife severely with personal weapons or anything available at that moment. John's beatings have put Jane in the hospital three times in the past six months. She has filed charges against John, but the courts continually put him on probation with mandated counseling. Jane knows that John is going to be exceptionally brutal on this specific night because they had a fight before he left for work. She decides she is not going to tolerate another beating from John. Jane meets John as he enters their home and greets him with a large, cast-iron skillet. The blow fractures John's skull and he crumples to the floor. Jane immediately calls 911. John is rushed to the hospital. What defense may Jane rely upon to justify her actions? What if John dies? Will that same defense apply? Why or why not?

The difference between the castle doctrine and "make my day law" is that the latter is premised on a defense of habitation theory, not a self-defense theory.

Under the Model Penal Code, what occurs when someone takes a significant step toward committing a criminal offense?

New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Idaho, and Nevada are states with _________________.

The necessity defense, also called the choice of evils, justifies certain types of criminal activity when it cannot be avoided. However, claims of necessity generally fail in cases of homicide.

___________________ is a defense that prevents conviction if the defendant's actions were so trivial or minor in relation to the intent of the criminal law.

In general, people are authorized to use spring guns or any other mechanical device of the sort based on the rules applicable to protecting one's domicile.

What must be present to substantiate a successful claim of self-defense?

Generally speaking, a person is entitled to use what type of force to protect his or her possession of property?

The Supreme Court held that the use of deadly force by the police to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon could be justified only where the suspect could reasonably be thought to represent what type of threat to the public or to the officer and where deadly force is necessary to effect the arrest?