65
votes
Accepted
Is it true that a teacher can't engage/attack a shooter from behind during a school shooting that is in progress?
Is it true that a teacher can't engage/attack a shooter from behind
during a school shooting that is in progress?
No. Any use of force of any kind that only harms or kills the shooter who is actively ...
- 195k
56
votes
Accepted
What crime is hiring someone to kill you and then killing the hitman?
It appears you want to go for a defense strategy based on a self-defense argument.
This won't work in many jurisdictions, because self-defense usually doesn't apply when you intentionally caused a ...
- 7,336
45
votes
May I bring weapons and/or defend myself when trespassing for a legal reason?
As the answer by Greendrake says, if you have a a legal reason, to enter property, you re not a trespasser. Trespassing is generally defined as entering on property against the expressed will of the ...
- 113k
39
votes
What crime is hiring someone to kill you and then killing the hitman?
Applying the Model Penal Code, which is the law in most of the United States:
By requesting that A kill B, you are guilty of soliciting murder.
By reaching an agreement with A to pay to kill B, you ...
- 57.2k
36
votes
Can I use lethal force to protect myself and others from an on duty officer if he or she starts shooting up the location?
The answer provided by Dale M is half right, but there are a few things that I think are wrong.
Firstly, the actual reality of the situation doesn't matter. What matters is that you act in a ...
- 1,174
31
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to hack a hacker back (in the US)?
Generally, no.
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), which is the law that generally forbids breaking into or damaging computer systems, does not have any exceptions for "hacking back." ...
- 10.2k
29
votes
Is it true that a teacher can't engage/attack a shooter from behind during a school shooting that is in progress?
No, this is not true
In self-defense, anyone is entitled to use any reasonable force to defend themselves (or other people) from anyone who they reasonably consider a threat. They only need to show ...
- 2,418
27
votes
If a person is dressed up as non-human, and is killed by someone who sincerely believes the victim was not human, who is responsible?
Laws on self-defense vary greatly from nation to nation. Generally, one cannot hunt down a hypothetical threat but one can defend against an actual threat or even a mistakenly assumed actual threat ...
- 14.5k
26
votes
Is it legal to use force against a person who is trying to stop you from rescuing another person?
germany
Bob through his actions is harming Alice. Thus Eve may use the minimum necessary force to help Alice as Nothilfe, which is defined as using §32 StGB (Self protection/Notwehr) and §34 StGB (...
- 33.8k
26
votes
Is it legal to use force against a person who is illegally trying to disconnect a hospital patient's life support with intent to kill the patient?
england-and-wales
It depends on Alice's belief about who Mallory is and what Mallory is doing and whether Alice's force was reasonable.
If Alice is aware that Mallory's action is lawful, then Alice ...
- 15k
23
votes
What would you be charged with for covering up a rightful death?
Probably murder.
Because "victim 2 was then shot by this man in self defense" hasn't been determined by a neutral third party investigation or jury - it is just his own rationale for ...
- 3,587
23
votes
Accepted
Can you ever be certain that you will not be tried for an alleged crime?
united-states
The general rule
Is a person in one of those two scenarios forever in purgatory where
theoretically charges are always potentially pending?
In the first scenario, yes.
In the second ...
- 195k
16
votes
Accepted
Can an employer be required to provide an escort from office to vehicle?
Can an employer be required to provide an escort from office to
vehicle?
No, at least, not on the theory articulated in the question.
I can imagine some circumstances where it is conceivable that ...
- 195k
15
votes
Accepted
Does the "stand your ground" law regarding shooting an intruder apply when the door of the dwelling was not locked?
Edits added below to outline Florida's laws based on OP's comment
Jurisdiction does matter but here is a general answer regarding "stand your ground" laws. States that have so-called "stand your ...
- 5,565
15
votes
Ahmaud Arbery defendants invoke Georgia State Law as a Defense in Federal Court
Be careful: from the Wikipedia article, it appears that there is a state criminal trial and there will be a federal criminal trial. In addition, there is a federal civil suit which incorporates some ...
- 35.1k
15
votes
Is it legal to use force against a person who is illegally trying to disconnect a hospital patient's life support with intent to kill the patient?
It depends a tad in germany...
Mallory is staff ordered to shut off Life Support
There are cases where life support can be turned off. The two most relevant cases are:
the conscious patient telling ...
- 33.8k
15
votes
What would you be charged with for covering up a rightful death?
sweden An Offence against the peace of the grave
Gravfridsbrott
Brottsbalken 16 kap. 10 §
A person who, without authorisation, moves, damages or treats with disrespect the corpse or ashes of a ...
- 251
14
votes
Accepted
What happens if I shoot a police officer in self-defense during a SWAT raid?
This area of law is dependent on affirmative defenses that states may choose to provide. I found two law review articles that present the situations in Georgia and Indiana.1, 2
Georgia
Georgia Code ...
- 3,954
14
votes
Accepted
Can killing be "self-defense" if you are committing a crime yourself?
Engaging in unlawful conduct does not completely preclude a claim of self-defense under Wisconsin law
...but it does raise the bar in some circumstances:
Criminal conduct by the defendant removes the ...
- 10.2k
14
votes
Is it legal to use force against a person who is trying to stop you from rescuing another person?
united-states
There are dozens of jurisdictions in the U.S. with different criminal laws, but most have adopted the “justification of necessity” from the Model Penal Code of 1967. This created a ...
- 2,826
13
votes
Accepted
May I bring weapons and/or defend myself when trespassing for a legal reason?
If a court authorizes you to enter a property that won't be a trespass.
Such an authorization would be meant to be communicated to the property owner before you enter it — so that they allow you to ...
- 25.8k
13
votes
Is it legal to use force against a person who is trying to stop you from rescuing another person?
canada
The necessity defence may be available to Eve. In Canada there are three elements to this defence (R. v. Latimer, 2001 SCC 1 at paras. 28-31):
there must be an urgent situation of “clear and ...
- 44k
12
votes
What happens if I shoot a police officer in self-defense during a SWAT raid?
In the situation described, the defender is unlikely to get out alive. In most such cases the police will be very proactive in trying to kill the shooter. They have radios and if a "man down" alert ...
- 6,848
12
votes
Can you legally defend yourself against an attacking police officer?
The General Rule
In practice, the only time when self-defense against a police officer is legal is when you do not know and have no reasonable way that you could have known that the person attacking ...
- 195k
12
votes
Is self-defense allowed when there are objectively reasonable grounds but it is actually done subjectively for improper reasons?
canada
The person claiming self-defence must have the subjective belief that "a threat of force is being made against them or another person." Such belief must also be based on reasonable ...
- 44k
11
votes
Accepted
Am I legally able to use lethal force against a police officer in defense of another?
I'll use Washington state as my source, but laws will be similar in other states. RCW 9A.76.020 outlaws obstructing a law enforcement officer, which this would be: it is a gross misdemeanor. In using ...
- 211k
11
votes
Accepted
Do people lose their right to defend their house if they make it look like their house is uninhabited?
If I remember the case correctly, he didn't make his home look uninhabited (that is nobody is living there) but as if the inhabitants had left (gone shopping etc.) to make it look attractive to ...
- 32.9k
11
votes
Is it legal in Chicago to shoot looters?
Illinois has a "Castle Doctrine" which includes dwellings and other qualified buildings, but not a general "Stand your Ground" doctrine. Normally, to claim self-defense one has to ...
- 4,831
10
votes
Is deadly self defense in Germany legal?
Deadly self-defense is legal in Germany. The self-defense law (in particular Sect. 32 of the Criminal Code) makes no restrictions as far as the type of aggression and the type of defense is concerned. ...
- 659
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