Criminal Law Today Chapter 1 Summary

In chapter 5 of Criminal Law Today, the author explains the purpose of a defense to a criminal charge and differentiates both factual and legal defenses. The author also explains the nature of affirmative defenses. Not only the author explains these terms, but he also distinguishes between both justifications and excuses. A defense consists of evidence and arguments that are offered by the defendant and their attorneys in order to demonstrate why the defendant must not be held liable for a criminal charge. There articles two types of defenses, which are legal and factual. A legal defense may shield the defendant from conviction and punishment even if they did commit an illegal act. There are two forms of legal defense, which are justifications and excuses. Justifications are a type of legal

Self-defense is a defense to a criminal charge that is based on the recognition that an individual has the right to self-protection. However, there is a very significant requirement for self-defense. This requirement is that the person must show that he or she is a reasonable person. A reasonable person is a person who acts with common sense and who has the mental capacity of an average and sensible human being. If an individual who commits an unlawful act, and they have special needs, they may find that self-defense is not available to them. A concept that is associated with self-defense is apparent danger. Apparent danger is a form of danger that is said to exist when the behavior of the attacker makes the threat of danger. The law of self-defense holds that the use of force upon another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is necessary for the purpose of protecting himself or herself. Deadly force, the highest degree of force, can only be used to counter an immediate threat of death. However, the claim of self-defense is unavailable to those who actually precipitated the attack on