Self Defense is an Affirmative Defense in Jefferson County
In many cases, the accused can say yes, I committed the crime, but I had a legal justification for what I did. A good example to start with is the defense lawyer’s affirmative defense of Self Defense or Defense of Another Person, located at C.R.S. 18-1-704. This Jefferson County affirmative defense says that although you admit doing what you did, it was to protect you or another person from harm. If successful, this defense can completely defeat any criminal liability when a person is accused of a crime. Society has decided that we can defend ourselves and the welfare of others from what we reasonably believe to be the unlawful application of force by another. Read about the Affirmative Defense of Insanity.
Choice of Evils Affirmative Defense Denver Lawyer, C.R.S. 18-1-702
This mouthful of a definition for this Denver affirmative defense provides that “. . . conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense if justifiable and not criminal when it is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or developed through no conduct of the actor, and which is of sufficient gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sough to be prevented by the statue defining the offense is issue.” While your imagination could come up with many scenarios to apply this affirmative defense, consider a simple one. You and your friend are cutting wood and your friend’s chainsaw snaps up and cuts a major vein on his neck. He is seriously injured and requires immediate medical care. While he holds his neck you drive him to the hospital. Due to the emergency, you do not stop for six red lights, you speed 80 in a 40 mph zone, and even drive on a sidewalk to get past a traffic jam. Police catch up with you at the hospital emergency entrance as your friend is being loaded on a gurney and taken in for emergency surgery. You get a boatload of tickets. The Choice of Evils affirmative defense would likely lead to the dismissal or acquittal on all charges. How about you wrestling the keys from a drunk about to get in his car and drive? Is it Assault or just a poor charge which can be beat by the Choice of Evils affirmative defense in Denver?
Use of Physical Force – Special Relationships Affirmative Defense in Arapahoe County and Douglas County
An individual will be charged with the crime of false imprisonment in Arapahoe County if they keep someone in a room against their will, right? Mostly that is true. Here is the affirmative defense of Use of Physical Force – Special Relationships in Douglas County: “The use of physical force upon another person which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal under any of the following circumstances: a) A parent, guardian, or other person entrusted with the care and supervision of a minor or an incompetent person, and a teacher or other person entrusted with the care and supervision of a minor, may use reasonable and appropriate physical force upon the minor or incompetent person when and to the extent it is reasonably necessary and appropriate to maintain discipline or promote the welfare of the minor or incompetent person.” Imagine an older man with Alzheimer’s, who tries to leave the house of his daughter, who watches him. The woman stops the man by pulling him away from the door, and she locks the deadbolt with a key from the inside. He picks up the phone and calls police. Officers ticket the woman for False Imprisonment in Arapahoe County. The Use of Physical Force – Special Relationships Affirmative Defense would be a slam dunk defense to the charge of False Imprisonment.
Affirmative Defenses in Adams County – A Defense Lawyer’s Perspective
Police are often poorly educated on affirmative defenses like Use of Physical Force – Special Relationships, Choice of Evils and Self Defense in Adams County. In many cases, officers are worried they’ll face criticism if they make a mistake, so they charge someone even when they are aware of an applicable affirmative defense. Only a criminal defense lawyer like those at the O’Malley Law Office can make the District Attorney see the light. If not them, we will tell your story to a judge or jury.
Call our affirmative defense lawyers about these and several other defenses available for your criminal charges. We only practice criminal defense and know it well. Call us at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.
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