Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
SELF-DEFENCE - Coggle Diagram
SELF-DEFENCE
DEGREE OF FORCE
-
If the force is used after all damage is over or when the attacker is running away then self-defence is unlikely to succeed
- Martin
- D shot a burglar in the back as he ran away and killed him
- Ratio: the threat had passed and therefore use of the gun was excessive
- Self-defence failed
Hussian
- D chased a robber who had threatened his family and beat up V with a cricket bat
- The attack was so savage that the bat broke in pieces and V was left with permanent brain damage
- Ratio: self-defence failed because D was acting out of vengeance after the original attack was over
S.76(6) Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
- The degree of force will not be reasonable in the circumstances if it is disproportionate
- In deciding whether the amount of force used was reasonable in the circumstances, the law allows for the fact that a person facing attack is under stress and cannot be expected to calculate the exact amount of force
- D is not expected to weigh the amount of force to a nicety
- The fact that D honestly and instinctively thought the level of force was necessary, is strong evidence that it was reasonable
-
NEED FOR FORCE
S.76(3) Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008
- Whether the degree of force used by D was reasonable in the circumstances is to be decided by reference to the circumstances as D believed them to be
Williams
- D thought a youth was being attacked and intervened
- He was actually being arrested
- Ratio: whether force is necessary is decided on the basis of D's genuine belief, even if he is mistaken and regardless of whether the mistake was reasonable
Should D retreat
- D is not under a duty to retreat of defuse the situation, but the possibility that D could have retreated is a factor is deciding if use of force was necessary
Bird
- D argued with her ex-boyfriend and poured a drink over him
- He slapped her and pinned her against a wall
- She punched him in the face and claimed he forgot she had a glass in her hand
- The glass broke and he lost his eye
- Ratio: there is no duty to retreat or defuse the situation before using force
HOUSEHOLDER CASES
Householders confronted by intruders who use a disproportionate level of force (but not grossly disproportionate) to protect themselves or others in their home will not automatically be regarded as having acted unlawfully
Using a level of force that is grossly disproportionate in the circumstances of the case, however, will not be regarded as reasonable and the defence will therefore fail
Collins v Sec of State for Justice
A householder caught a burglar in his home at night and held him in a headlock resulting in irreversible brain damage. No prosecution was brought against the householder. The burglar's father challenged the legality of this decision but the claim was rejected