Self-defense is the use of force to protect oneself from an attempted injury by another. If justified, self-defense is a defense in criminal and tort law. It is used in unlawful acts involving force, such as murder, assault, and battery.
For example, in New York Penal Law, self-defense is justified when someone reasonably believes it necessary to defend themselves against the use or threatened use of “unlawful physical force.” The danger must be imminent, meaning that they believed they had to act when they did to avoid the danger. The act of self-defense must be proportionate to the danger, and the person defending themselves cannot be the initial aggressor (the first to threaten or use physical force).
United States v. Peterson is often used to teach the self-defense doctrine. In this case, the defendant used a gun to threaten a man trying to steal the windshield wipers from his car. When the man threatened the defendant with a wrench, the defendant shot and killed him. The use of the self-defense doctrine failed here due to the defendant’s status as the initial aggressor. The defendant was the first to threaten physical force when he threatened the man with a gun.
[Last updated in June of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]