Justification and Excuse as Criminal Defenses

Learn about the legal principles behind two important defense options.

Justification and Excuse as Criminal DefensesCriminal defense attorneys have many different options for building effective legal strategies for their clients. Often, these strategies involve proving that the defendant did not commit the crime at all. However, this does not mean that attorneys are left without options in cases where the physical evidence linking the defendant to the crime is quite clear. Depending on the nature of the case, two very important types of criminal defenses may apply.

Justification Defenses

A justification defense justifies the alleged criminal behavior as actually being socially acceptable or even heroic. Some common examples of justification defenses include:

  • Self-Defense: This justification defense is probably already familiar to you. Under this legal principle, criminal acts like battery or even homicide are not subject to punishment if the defendant was acting to defend himself or another party from harm. In order to use this defense, two important conditions must be met. First, the attorney must be able to prove that the defendant had a reasonable and imminent fear for their life. Secondly, the attorney must be able to establish that the defendant only used an appropriate amount of force that was proportional to the threat being faced at the time.
  • Necessity: Sometimes circumstances require an individual to break the law in order to prevent greater harm to themselves or others. For example, perhaps a raging wildfire threatens a community. An individual may set a small fire around the perimeter of the area to create a firebreak. Technically, this is arson or possibly malicious destruction of property. However, given that the “crime” was committed in order to prevent much greater fire damage, it could be justified under the legal principle of necessity.
  • Duress: The legal principle of duress is very similar to that of necessity, with the difference being that the pressure to commit the crime is supplied by another individual rather than natural forces.

Excuse Defenses

Excuse defenses allow the criminal defense attorney to argue that the defendant’s criminal conduct should be excused based on some sort of defect or disability. Common arguments include:

  • The defendant’s conduct was not voluntary
  • The defendant is incapable of telling right from wrong
  • The defendant cannot understand the consequences of his conduct
  • The defendant cannot understand the law

The most common excuse defense is of course the insanity defense. While excuse defenses can keep defendants out of jail, it is important to note that they typically do not result in outright acquittal. Instead there is a special form of verdict or finding resulting in treatment or institutionalization for the defendant.

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