What is the Defense of “Defense of a Third Person”?

When you are facing charges for assault and battery, or for any other type of criminal offense that involves the threat or use of physical force against another person, you should be working with a defense lawyer to determine the best defense strategy given the specific facts of your case. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to use an “affirmative defense,” which is a defense in which you admit that you engaged in the elements of the offense but that your actions were justified under state or federal law. A common type of affirmative defense is self-defense, where you argue that you engaged in a threat of or actual physical force to defend yourself. But what about when you step into a situation to defend another person?

In this type of situation, you may be able to use the affirmative defense related to self-defense, known as “defense of a third” or “defense of a third person.” Our Tampa criminal defense lawyers can explain in more detail below.

Justifiable Use of Force Under Florida Law

Under Section 776.012 of the Florida Statutes, defined as the “use or threatened use of force in defense of person,” exists under Chapter 776, which governs the justifiable use of force. A person can be justified in using force, including deadly force in some circumstances, to defend themselves “or another.”

First, the statute says that “a person is justified in using or threatening to use force, except deadly force, against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or herself or another against the other’s imminent use of unlawful force.”

Second, the statute also says that a person can be “justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”

Elements of Defense of a Third Person

When does the defense of a third person, or the defense of another, apply to the criminal charges a person might be facing?

As the statutory language cited above explains, if the person facing charges “reasonably believed” that their use of force was necessary to defend another person or to prevent the death or serious injury of another person, then the affirmative defense may apply to the case and it may be possible to have the charges dropped.

Contact Our Tampa Criminal Defense Lawyers for Help Building a Defense Against the Assault and Battery Charges You Are Currently Facing in Florida 

When you are facing charges for assault and battery in Florida, one type of defense strategy is to argue self-defense, or that you were defending yourself. As we discussed above, the theory of self-defense can also apply in cases where a person engaged in acts that could be defined as assault or battery in order to defend another person — the defense of a third person. Whether this type of affirmative defense may be relevant to your case, or you need assistance determining the best defense strategy to avoid a conviction for assault and battery in Florida, one of the experienced Tampa assault and battery defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Daniel J. Fernandez, P.A. can help. Contact our firm today to learn more about the criminal defense services we provide.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0776/Sections/0776.012.html