Given the fact that aggressive touching, hitting, or punching someone is a crime in most jurisdictions, it's understandable why innocent people would be slapped with assault or battery charges. When we say "innocent," we are referring to individuals who were attacked but fought back in self-defense.

Fortunately, states recognize that people have a right to defend themselves, thus the person who defended themselves against an abuser (domestic violence) or attacker may be able to escape a conviction by claiming self-defense.

For someone to avoid a criminal conviction by claiming self-defense, the defendant must be able to prove that he or she had to use violence to protect themselves against another's unlawful use of force.

People Have a Right to Defend Themselves

Under the self-defense doctrine people have the right to protect themselves when another person is threatening to injure or kill them, or sometimes when the other person is physically assaulting a third person.

Often, an individual will claim self-defense when they are charged with assault or battery. In order for a self-defense claim to be successful in court, the following must be true:

• The defendant reasonably believed that they had to defend themselves.
• The defendant proves they reasonably believed they were threatened with bodily injury.
• The defendant shows that they had reason to believe that they were threatened with unlawful harm.
• The defendant can prove that the threatened harm was serious enough to warrant the degree of forced used by the defendant.

If the defendant used deadly force, the court will want to know if the defendant had the opportunity to retreat before using deadly force. Often, for the deadly force to be a plausible defense, the defendant will have to show that they did not have an opportunity to retreat to complete safety.

If you are facing assault, battery, manslaughter or murder charges and you acted in self-defense, you should contact a criminal defense attorney immediately for help!