Criminal Law - CRJ1400 - Chapter 5

________ is available as a defense only if lack of consent would be an element of the crime.

Consent

________ force—the highest degree of force—is considered reasonable only when used to counter an immediate threat of death or great bodily harm.

Deadly

________ are a category of legal defenses in which a defendant claims that some personal condition or circumstance at the time of the act was such that he or she should not be held accountable under the criminal law.

Excuses

Bob and Ray get into an argument. Bob threatens to slap Ray. Fearful of being slapped, Ray responds by pulling a gun and shooting Bob. Ray has defended himself with reasonable force.

False

Bob, a college student, is late to take a final exam. He jumps in his car and runs a red light in order to get to campus in time for his exam. If Bob gets a ticket for running the light, he can claim the defense of necessity.

False

Conduct that violates the law cannot be justifiable.

False

The fleeing felon rule, which allows the police to shoot a suspected felon who attempts to flee from a lawful arrest, is the law in most state and federal courts.

False

Under the castle exception, it is still necessary to retreat from one's dwelling in the face of an immediate threat before resorting to deadly force in protection of the home.

False

When a defendant argues that he or she could not have committed the crime in question, that he or she has an alibi, the defendant's defense is a justification.

False

In a college football game, Ray tackles Bob and breaks Bob's ankle. While they are still in the pile, Bob punches Ray in the face. Can either one use the defense of consent?

Only Ray can use the defense of consent for the injury he inflicted.

________ holds that a person can defend a third party only under circumstances and to the degree that the third party could act on his or her own behalf.

The alter ego rule

Justifications and excuses are affirmative defenses.

True

Ray watches Bob unlawfully start a fight with a stranger. The stranger begins to get the best of Bob, so Ray steps in to help Bob. Ray may not escape criminal liability by claiming his action was the legitimate defense of others.

True

Self-defense to a criminal charge is based on the recognition that a person has an inherent right to self-protection.

True

The execution of public duty defense is available to law enforcement officers to protect them from being prosecuted for crimes, like assault, when lawfully exercising their authority.

True

A(n) ________ defense is one in which the defendant must take the offense and respond to the charges against him or her with his or her own assertions being based on legal arguments.

affirmative

Evidence and arguments offered by the defendant to show why the defendant should not be held liable for a criminal charge are called ________.

defenses

Bob attacks Ray without provocation and hits him repeatedly. Ray defends himself by striking Bob and breaking his jaw. Ray has harmed Bob, but Ray will not be held criminally liable for what he did because he has a defense that is a(n) ________.

excuse

Claims of self-defense are weakened whenever ________.

fear may not have been reasonable

The police arrive as Bob is robbing a bank with a gun. Bob runs out the door of the bank, taking shots at the police as he runs. Which of the following allows the police to shoot Bob to stop him?

fleeing felon rule

In regard to resisting a lawful arrest, all jurisdictions today ________.

have laws making resistance illegal

Ray owes Bob some money. Bob tells Ray he has until three o'clock the next day to repay the money or Bob will have Ray beaten up. Ray immediately attacks Bob to protect himself. Ray cannot claim self-defense because _______.

he was not in apparent danger

Bob is charged with a crime and defends himself by arguing that he only committed the crime to avoid some greater evil. Bob is defending himself with a(n) ________.

justification

In jurisdictions where the concepts of perfect and imperfect self-defense are employed, imperfect self-defense may ________.

lower criminal liability but not eliminate it

For the defense of ________, the defendant claims that he or she had to commit some unlawful act in order to prevent or to avoid a greater harm.

necessity

In most jurisdictions, the owner of property can justifiably use reasonable ________ force to prevent others from unlawfully taking or damaging his or her property.

nondeadly

The legal concept of the ________ envisions a person who acts with common sense and who has the mental capacity of an average, normal, sensible human being.

reasonable person

The castle exception is an exception to the ________ rule.

retreat

Bob and Ray are in a bar. Bob pulls a knife and threatens to cut Ray. Bob is so drunk that all Ray needs to do to protect himself is walk out of the bar. Ray decides to take the knife off Bob and beat him up instead. Ray has violated the ________.

retreat rule

In a jurisdiction without ________, when Bob reasonably believes that his intervention is immediately necessary to protect Ray, he may defend Ray without criminal liability, even if it turns out that Ray had no right to defend himself.

the alter ego rule