Can You Still Claim Self-Defense If You Threw The First Blow?
Posted on: 5 August 2015
You probably know that you have a right to defend yourself if somebody starts hitting you. But, is it ever okay to throw the first punch? Yes, in certain circumstances, it is. This is what you should know about claiming self-defense laws when you took the first action.
You have the right to defend yourself with a reasonable response to violence.
What does that mean? If someone is hitting, punching, kicking, or otherwise attacking you, you have a clear right to defend yourself. You also have the right to defend yourself with a preemptive strike, if you reasonably believe that the other person is about to hit, punch, kick, or otherwise attack you.
However, your response to the assault (or near assault) has to be proportional.
For example, imagine that you and another shopper at a store get into a verbal fight over the last box of bakery cookies available. You call the other shopper a name and she draws back her fist and punches you. She wouldn't be able to claim self-defense because her punch wasn't proportional to your name calling.
However, imagine that you see her draw back her fist just in time to respond with a well-placed kick that knocks her to the ground and prevents her from actually hitting you. As long as you stopped right there and didn't kick her again while she was sprawled on the ground, you could claim self-defense.
You took the first blow, but you had a reasonable belief (based on her balled-up fist coming your way) that you were about to be hit and you took a proportional response (kicking her so that she fell over and missed).
Going overboard and jumping too fast is what causes people a problem with self-defense claims.
A lot of people get into trouble and find themselves arrested even though they felt like they were only defending themselves because they either jumped into action too fast or went overboard with their reaction. When the courts examine a claim of self-defense, several things are examined:
- Was your fear of harm reasonable?
- Was the threat imminent?
- Had the threat ended?
- Was your response proportional?
- Did you have a duty to retreat?
Some states have "duty to retreat" laws that require you to flee from a fight if you can before using deadly force, and that can be important to know before you respond to a threat of violence. Even if you don't intend to use deadly force, a well-placed punch could end up having deadly consequences, and you could find yourself trying to defend your actions in court.
Where the rest of the rules are concerned, the situation can sometimes be very clear. Other situations end up being subjective, and those are the ones that usually land in court with someone claiming self-defense.
For example, imagine the same scenario as before where the lady arguing with you over the cookies raises her fist and you kick her to the ground. Now imagine that every time she tried to get back up, you kicked her back down again. The court could easily assume that you've gone too far. The court might feel that your response to her punch was no longer proportional or that any threat to you was over once you had her on the ground. You, on the other hand, may have been reacting out of fear that she'd be even more violent if you let her get back on her feet.
A similar situation could occur if you misinterpreted an angry gesture on the part of the woman while you were arguing and respond by knocking her down. If she was just gesturing in frustration at you and never balled up her fist, the court might determine that there was no imminent danger to you, essentially destroying your claim of self-defense.
For more information, contact Kirsten Swanson Atty or a similar legal professional.
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