63
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 ...
- 139k
57
votes
Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA
I would just like to clarify, in addition to the other answers and what Dale M alluded to, one important detail: Unless you are carrying out the death penalty, no one under any circumstances is ...
- 768
51
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 ...
- 5,244
44
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 ...
- 98.1k
36
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 ...
- 45.3k
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 ...
- 1,108
33
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." ...
- 10.1k
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 ...
- 5,678
27
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 ...
- 2,032
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 ...
- 139k
15
votes
Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA
According to California Penal Code Section 187
(a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or a
fetus, with malice aforethought.
Penal Code section 197 and 198:
Homicide is ...
- 5,465
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 ...
- 5,465
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 ...
- 25.3k
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 ...
- 10.1k
13
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 ...
- 3,894
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 ...
- 139k
12
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 ...
- 20.3k
11
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 ...
- 5,670
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 ...
- 26.3k
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 ...
- 4,215
10
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 ...
- 165k
10
votes
Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA
If you have a reasonable belief you or someone else is in imminent danger you have the right, under California law, to defend yourself with "no more force than was necessary to stop the threat."
...
- 3,278
10
votes
Accepted
Would it be legal to use deadly force in a stampede?
Self-Defense Law In A Nutshell
Self-defense (or defense of others) with deadly force is generally authorized when a reasonable person would believe that the use of death force is necessary to prevent ...
- 139k
10
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?
Self defense is self defense
It doesn’t matter whom you are defending yourself (or others) from.
However, a police officer is allowed to use force in wider circumstances than anyone else. If you ...
- 158k
9
votes
Am I allowed to kill a person threatening me? CA, USA
The doctrine of self defence makes it legal to use reasonable force to defend yourself and others against the threat of unlawful and immediate violence.
There is no question there is a threat of ...
- 158k
8
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. ...
- 609
8
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?
Something like this?
Darren organised a situation where he knew a fight or flight situation was likely - it is his responsibility to ensure the safety of all involved. This would also include a ...
- 278
8
votes
What crime is hiring someone to kill you and then killing the hitman?
defend myself by killing the hit man. What crime(s) have I committed?
Generally it would be manslaughter or [1st or 2nd-degree] murder, depending on whether premeditation can be proved. Justifiable ...
- 40.9k
8
votes
Is it true that a teacher can't engage/attack a shooter from behind during a school shooting that is in progress?
You Do not Say Where this Was, but ....
Your tag says it is a question about the law in the United States. Your friend told you that this was not some recommendation of the best way to handle a ...
- 1,981
7
votes
Accepted
Guidelines to claim right to use physical force as self defense?
The general rule is that using force in self-defense is justified if the person using the force reasonably believes it immediately is necessary to prevent the unlawful use of force against themselves ...
- 20.8k
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