White Paper on "Arizona Laws on Self-Defense"

White Paper 20 pages (6744 words) Sources: 0 August 12, 2018

[EXCERPT] . . . .

ARS Title 13, Chapter 4, Justification:

B. Laws of Arrest

1) Interface with Law Enforcement/Assisting Law Enforcement (Be a good witness but do not physically assist law enforcement unless asked).

Sec 13-401. Unavailability of justification defense; justification as defense

A. Even though a person is justified under this chapter in threatening or using physical force or deadly physical force against another, if in doing so such person recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person, the justification afforded by this chapter is unavailable in a prosecution for the reckless injury or killing of the innocent third person.

Summary

This section means that notwithstanding the availability of the justification defense in those instances where a civilian is in sufficiently close proximity to a crime scene to threaten to use or actually use physical force or deadly force against a third party (presumably the criminal actor since the section is silent on this issue) if requested by competent law enforcement authorities (i.e. “peace officers”), this defense is unavailable in those cases where such threats or actual use of physical or deadly force result in injuries or homicides of other innocent civilians if such actions were taken in a reckless fashion.

It is important to note the “reckless” qualifier in this chapter since it is the operative term that either affords a justification defense or not. A representative fact situation where such a justification defense would likely be regarded by a court of competent jurisdiction would be a burly civilian being requested by a police officer to help restrain a violent criminal who then responded by spraying the crime scene with bullets from an automatic weapon or throwing a lit Molotov cocktail to resolve the problem. Clearly, such actions would be regarded as “reckless” under virtually any circumstances, but it is also important to note that such responses exist along a continuum and even modest threats or physical force may be considered reckless in some situations and wholly inadequate in others. In sum, civilians have a fundamental responsibility to assist law enforcement authorities by serving as reliable witnesses and physically assisting them when requested to do so, but this responsibility has a corresponding obligations to respond in a fashion that does not needlessly endanger others.

Sec 13-402. Justification; execution of public duty

A. Unless inconsistent with the other sections of this chapter defining justifiable use of physical force or deadly physical force or with some other superseding provision of law, conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable when it is required or authorized by law.

B. The justification afforded by subsection A also applies if:

2. A reasonable person would believe such conduct is required or authorized to assist a peace officer in the performance of such officer's duties, notwithstanding that the officer exceeded the officer's legal authority.

Summary

The provisions of this section mean that persons are justified in taking whatever steps they regard as necessary in response to a request to do so by a peace officer, even if such steps would otherwise be illegal. In addition, all “persons” are also justified in taking such extreme measures even if the requested peace officers lacked the authority to do so or exceeded their authority in making such a request. It is important to note that in this context, the designation “persons” can apply to virtually anyone or any organization. For instance, this chapter legally defines a “person” as “a human being” as well as, depending on the fact situation, “an enterprise, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a partnership, a firm, a society, a government, a governmental authority or an individual or entity capable of holding a legal or beneficial interest in property.”

In other words, persons, including both public and private sector organizations as well as governmental entities of any size or type, enjoy the legal protection of the justification defense in the execution of their public duty when called upon by peace officers to do so, even if their actions are otherwise against the law or if the requested peace officers did not possess the requisite authority to make such as request or exceeded whatever authority they did posses under the fact situation. This chapter also means that while peace officers are accountable for exceeding their authority, knowingly or otherwise, the persons they request to assist them are justified in doing so, irrespective of the legality of such actions otherwise.

Sec 13-403. Justification; use of physical force

3. A person responsible for the maintenance of order in a place where others are assembled or on a common motor carrier of passengers, or a person acting under his direction, may use physical force if and to the extent that a reasonable person would believe it necessary to maintain order, but such person may use deadly physical force only if reasonably necessary to prevent death or serious physical injury.

4. A person acting under a reasonable belief that another person is about to commit suicide or to inflict serious physical injury upon himself may use physical force upon that person to the extent reasonably necessary to thwart the result.

6. A person may otherwise use physical force upon another person as further provided in this chapter.

Summary

As defined in the previous section, this section authorizes the expanded definition of “persons” (which includes public and private sector organizations and governmental entities or their designees) in Arizona to use physical force in those situations in which they have a reasonable belief that such forces is considered necessary to the maintenance of public order. Such interventional actions include those that would be illegal absent these compelling circumstances.

Although “reasonable belief” is undefined in this section, Arizona statutes clearly distinguish between simple “physical force” (i.e., “force used upon or directed toward the body of another person and includes confinement”) and “deadly physical force” (i.e., “force that is used with the purpose of causing death or serious physical injury or in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of creating a substantial risk of causing death or serious physical injury”).

This legal distinction means that the use of deadly physical force is only justified in those situations where it is needed to prevent serious physical injury or the death of others. It is important to note that a special case is made under the law for suicide prevention wherein deadly physical forces is not authorized under any circumstances (it would make little sense to kill attempting suicides in order to prevent them from actually committing the act). Nevertheless, physical force is authorized to the extent needed in order to prevent others from taking their own lives. These sections of the chapter are applicable to all public places, including public transportation.

Sec 13-404. Justification; self-defense

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.

B. The threat or use of physical force against another is not justified:

1. In response to verbal provocation alone; or

2. To resist an arrest that the person knows or should know is being made by a peace officer or by a person acting in a peace officer's presence and at his direction, whether the arrest is lawful or unlawful, unless the physical force used by the peace officer exceeds that allowed by law; or

3. If the person provoked the other's use or attempted use of unlawful physical force, unless:

(a) The person withdraws from the encounter or clearly communicates to the other his intent to do so reasonably believing he cannot safely withdraw from the encounter; and

(b) The other nevertheless continues or attempts to use unlawful physical force against the person.

Summary

This section states that the threat or actual use of physical force is legally justified in those situations wherein persons have a reasonable belief that another person is going to harm them through the use of unlawful physical force. This broad justification, however, is qualified by several caveats, including most especially in those situations in which the threatening person makes it clear that he is she is withdrawing from the encounter or otherwise makes it clear that he or she is unable to withdraw from the encounter without placing themselves in jeopardy from physical force by the original victim.

In addition, another important caveat is the fact that physical force is not legally justified when it is provoked by “fighting words,” or in those cases where persons are being detained or arrested by peace officers or others acting at their request, provided the persons so acting are in the presence of the peace officer. In addition, the latter caveat is applicable even if the arrest is unlawful; however, persons are justified in using physical force if they reasonably believe that the physical force being used by the arresting peace officer or others acting at their direction and in their physical presence exceed the level of physical force that is authorized by law. This caveat, though, is also contextual and situation-specific. In this regard, the chapter specifically stipulates that “unlawful” means “contrary to law or, where the context so requires, not permitted by law.” In other words, persons are justified in using physical force if they reasonably believe that peace officers are exceeding their contextual authority (e.g., attempting to shoot to kill an otherwise-innocent person for jaywalking).

Sec 13-405. Justification; use of deadly physical force

A. A person is justified in threatening or using deadly physical force against another:

1. If such person would be justified in threatening or using physical force against the other under section 13-404, and

2. When and to the degree a reasonable person would believe that deadly physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly physical force.

B. A person has no duty to retreat before threatening or using deadly physical force pursuant to this section if the person is in a place where the person may legally be and is not engaged in an unlawful act.

Summary:

In this section, persons are considered to be legally justified in threatening to use or in actually using deadly physical force in order to defend themselves (pursuant to the foregoing section’s several provisions concerning self-defense) in those situations in which they have reasonable belief that such actions are immediately necessary in order to protect themselves from others’ use of unlawful deadly physical force. In Arizona, deadly physical force is defined as “force that is used with the purpose of causing death or serious physical injury or in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of creating a substantial risk of causing death or serious physical injury.”

An important aspect of this chapter concerns the so-called “stand your ground” mandate in which persons are legally justified to threaten to use or actually use deadly physical force provided they are in a location where they are authorized to be and are not engaged in any unlawful activities. In other words, persons are legally justified to “stand their ground” and threaten other persons whom they regard as a potentially immediate deadly threat (i.e., “Back off or I’ll shoot you!”) or by actually drawing a weapon and firing in order to protect themselves from such perceived deadly threats. Once again, however, there is a subjective quality to this chapter that must be taken into account. For instance,… READ MORE

How to Reference "Arizona Laws on Self-Defense" White Paper in a Bibliography

Related White Papers:

International Law V Torture in Post-War Iraq Thesis

International Law v Torture in Post-War Iraq and U.S.' Liability

International and U.S. Law Against Torture and Other Ill-treatment

International and U.S. law expressly forbids torture and other forms of… read more

Thesis 25 pages (7379 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Law and Evidence Essay

Federal Rules of Evidence

The issue here is whether the suspension of the license should be overturned because the police report was inadmissible. The second issue is whether the finding… read more

Essay 8 pages (2542 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Stand Your Ground Law: Criminal Justice Research Paper

Stand Your Ground Laws

The 13th of July 2013 marked the boil of the controversy surrounding Stand Your Ground laws; the laws that grant people the right to use lethal… read more

Research Paper 8 pages (2875 words) Sources: 5 Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

Principals of Criminal Law Essay

Criminal Law and Procedure

The act of rape is defined as the nonconsensual sexual intercourse that is committed by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress (325). In the… read more

Essay 3 pages (877 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Juvenile Delinquents Term Paper

Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), the Supreme Court determined that juveniles in delinquency proceedings had to be afforded many of the same rights as adults in criminal proceedings. These rights… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (959 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA Topic: Law / Legal / Jurisprudence

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>