SAN DIEGO DISTRICT ATTORNEY The Fourth Amendment and ...

eanbag; Bryan v. MacPherson (9 th Cir. 2010) 630 F.3 rd 805;
Taser.)
Applicable Statutes:
P.C. § 692: Lawful resistance to the commission of a public
offense may be made:
1. By the party about to be injured;
2. By other parties.
See also CALCRIM, # 3470, “Self-Defense and Defense of
Another.”
A defendant has a right of self-defense if he “reasonably
believed that he was in imminent danger of suffering bodily
injury” through the application of unreasonable force
applied by a person attempting to make a citizen’s arrest.
(People v. Adams (2009) 176 Cal.App.4 th 946.)
“Self-defense” does not justify an assault absent a “an
immediate threat of unlawful force, and the need for the
action to be commensurate with the threat, with no more
force used than reasonably necessary to meet it.” Harsh,
insulting, nor demeaning words alone are insufficient to
trigger the right to use self-defense in return. (United
States v. Urena (9 th Cir. 2011) 659 F.3 rd 903, 906-907;
being called a “bitch” hours earlier did not justify a
preemptive strike by defendant.)
P.C. § 693: Party about to be injured; circumstances in which
force is authorized: By the party, in what cases and to what extent:
1. To prevent an offense against his person, or his
family, or some member thereof.
2. To prevent an illegal attempt by force to take or
injure property in his lawful possession.
See also CALCRIM, # 3470, “Self-Defense and Defense of
Another.”
P.C. § 694: Other Parties; circumstances in which force is
authorized: Any other person, in aid or defense of the person
about to be injured, may make resistance sufficient to prevent the
offense.
© 2012 Robert C. Phillips. All rights reserved
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