Should my daughter be charged with a felony for trying to defend her friend? 55 Answers as of October 12, 2011

Self defense includes defense of others. Anybody can be charged with a crime but it sounds like she has a valid defense.

You have not included all the facts needed to answer your question completely. First your daughter is charged with a felony. Now what needs to be done is getting her out of this problem with the least damage to her. Based on the facts that you stated your daughter has a good defense. She could be not guilty under the defense of others. Whether this is true will depend on the facts of what happened and in what order. Also remember it is not what you know but what you can prove. This goes for both the defendant and the prosecution.

This is classic defense of others (similar to self defense). The DA can charge her, but a good defense attorney should win her case the intruder can be charged with felony 1st degree burglary with a 10 year minimum mandatory sentence to prison.

It sounds like self-defense which is a defense to any charge. Also, I don't think it's a felony.

Based upon the facts you assert your daughter should not be charged, but now that she is she needs to hire an experienced Criminal Defense attorney to fight the case for her.

Defense of a third person who is endanger of being injured is a legitimate defense. Those kind of cases are very fact sensitive, so I can't tell you whether she should have been charged or not without knowing all of the facts. She definitely needs a lawyer because it sounds like this case will have to go to trial to be resolved.

Sounds like a very fact specific situation. Self defense of others is a defense but it has limits. She needs a good certified criminal law specialist to represent her if it can be afforded.

She needs an attorney who will file a Notice of a Defense which would be the defense of others.

The issue is can you come to the defense of another? The answer is generally yes, but the amount of force used here may be an issue. She should retain a competent defense attorney to review and defend her in this matter.

Should she be charged? This is up to the State Attorney. Should she be convicted, that will be up to a jury. It sounds like your daughter may have a valid claim of defense of others. This will depend on a number of circumstances that you have not provided. I suggest you consult an experienced Criminal Defense attorney to discuss your daughter's case in greater detail and learn all of her rights and options. Good luck.

One can defend oneself and others from attack. It is a question for a jury but based on what I am getting you daughter could use these facts to at least mitigate the case.

She shouldn't, but she is, so you've got to deal with it. Once charges are filed, a long process has begun. Time to get an attorney for her.

She needs to get a lawyer to help her fight these charges. Just like self defense, defense of others is a defense.

There is a legal defense of defense of others, which is strengthened by the fact that the incident occurred in her apartment.

She can certainly be charge. She did commit an assault with a deadly weapon. However, there may be a defense to the charge referred to as "defense of others" which is similar to a self-defense argument. She will want to speak to an experienced attorney.

Your daughter needs to hire the very best criminal defese attorney she can afford. She may have a viable "defense of others" defense.

It should be obvious by now based upon what you said that you need a highly experienced criminal defense law firm to help your daughter. This is extremely serious and if this is a felony she is facing the possibility of going to state prison.

As long as the force was reasonable, defense of others is a recognized legal defense.

She'll have to defend herself. Whether or not you or I may think it unfair to charge her doesn't change the fact that she is charged.

Obviously she is charged with the felony, so the answer is yes. Can she defend against it? Of course. She needs a skilled, local counsel to defend her.

Your daughter needs a good criminal defense lawyer.

Well, it sounds like his position may make it an uphill climb, but "Defense of Another" is a valid defense to Assault & Battery, which is probably what your daughter is charged with. It is actually probably A&B with a dangerous weapon. Hire an attorney. Online help is ok for general thoughts and ideas but if you have been charged with a crime you should be speaking with your own attorney who works for you.

Defense of another is a legitimate defense to assert at trial but that never stops anyone from being charged. Your daughter needs a first rate experienced criminal defense lawyer. Visit my website MTauber.com I can help.

Yes she can be charged with a felony, although misdemeanor assault sounds more appropriate here. She Needs a lawyer for this serious a situation. She may have a valid defense under Oklahoma Statutes But "the club" concerns me:

There may be a defense of 'defense of others'. Hire the best lawyer you can for her.

"Should" and "can" are two different things. It sounds like a self-defense/defense of another issue, which will need to be taken up in court.

She should get a good defense attorney right away! A felony is a very serious charge and she may be facing jail time.

Not enough facts to effectively answer. If your daughter became the aggressor and used more force than was necessary to protect her friend then "yes" she could be charged. The fact that she is charged with a felony indicates that she used excessive force and, I assume, broke a bone when she hit the person with the club. The other issue is why your friend was "dragged" from the apartment. Was the friend running from the commission of a crime? Don't know. There are just too many questions that I need answered. You need to consult with an attorney. A felony is a very serious charge and a conviction carries with it substantial penalties , including jail. Do not take this lightly.

You're asking the wrong question. Anyone can be charged with anything if the prosecutor has probable cause. The question is can she be convicted. If the friend was in your daughter's home and the neighbor entered the home without consent and grabbed the friend and pulled him outside, the neighbor was committing the crime of residential burglary. Your daughter would have been privileged in using reasonable force at the time of the burglary and kidnapping. However once the crime was completed, it turned into a misdemeanor assault. At that point, deadly force may have been inappropriate. The right of self-defense and right to defend on others depends on the circumstances at the time of using deadly force and the reasonableness of doing so. The force used must also be proportionate to the amount of force being used by the assailant. Use of a club is per se deadly force so the question will be was that force excessive. To be any more specific, I would need to speak to your daughter and the other witnesses or review the police report.

Your daughter has an affirmative defense to the (what I am assuming from your question) is an aggravated battery charge. She will likely end up asserting defense of others at trial or entering some sort of plea bargain. You ask should your daughter be charged, and from what you describe the answer is no. However, the more relevant question is can she be charged, and, unfortunately, the answer to that question is yes. Make sure she has a good criminal defense lawyer to look out for her best interests as the politics involved in any case can make negotiations and trial all the more difficult.

She should get a good attorney and fight the case. Defense of others is a valid defense.

Should she be charged? They have, so that question is already answered by the DA. The big question now is "Will she be convicted?". A person has an absolute right of self defense and there is also the theory of defense of others. A person can use reasonable force (to the same level the person being attacked could use) to defend another person. We have a very limited amount of information to work with, but it sounds as though your daughter has a very viable defense. The entire case, including all witness statements, physical evidence and reports will have to be analyzed by her attorney for a definitive answer.

The way you relayed the facts, it sounds like she could mount a good defense of other defense to the charge. This is a felony and has serious consequences including possible prison time. She needs to have an experienced criminal lawyer on her side. If she does not have one appointed to her, she needs to retain one. Felony cases are much too complex and the stakes are too high to go at it alone.

Colorado has a strong self defense or defense of others statute, which some call the "make-my-day" law. It does not always prevent a prosecutor from filing a case, but could be a complete defense at trial.

People can use force to protect themselves from assault or injury. However, the force must be no more than is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances. Whether or not using a club is reasonable force, which could be considered a deadly weapon, to break up a fist fight is fact dependent on the circumstances. If one exceeds the justifiable bounds of self defense or defense of others, they can be charged with assault themselves. If the neighbor broke into the apartment and assaulted an occupant, that is a felony and the neighbor should be prosecuted.

Your daughter could be charged but that does not mean that she should be convicted. Hire her a good attorney.

It doesn't matter whether you or I think she shouldn't be charged. She is. She now has to defend against the charges. With an ex-cop pressing charges, she needs to take this seriously. My statement of advice to her: Of course you can fight the charges. When arrested or charged with any crime, the proper questions are, can any evidence obtained in a test, search or confession be used against you, and can you be convicted, and what can you do? Raise all possible defenses with whatever admissible and credible witnesses, evidence, facts and sympathies are available for legal arguments, for evidence suppression or other motions, or at trial. If you don't know how to do these things effectively against an experienced prosecutor intending to convict, then hire an attorney that does, who will try to get a dismissal, diversion, reduction or other decent outcome through plea bargain, or take it to trial if appropriate.

On the surface, it does not sound fair that your daughter is charged with a felony for coming to the defense of her friend, however, you are presenting one side of the story, and I am not aware of the other side of the story, from the victim's point of view. If your daughter inflicted serious bodily harm to the victim, then perhaps she overstepped the amount of force necessary to defend her friend. Of course, if the victim is a cop and politically connected, this might have played a role in the charges being lodged as felonies as opposed to misdemeanors. The best advice I can give you is hire a good defense attorney to defend your daughter, she will need it. Also, her friend, if beaten by the victim, should be photographed and seen by a doctor to confirm his injuries.

This is one for the jury. Your daughter has a right to use reasonable force to defend another person. The general rule is that a person cannot use a weapon if the other guy is unarmed. There are exceptions, too many to mention. If it looked like your daughter's friend was in a life-threatening situation (being strangled) the jury may rule that the use of a club was reasonable. I recently won a case in which my client used a tire iron against an unarmed man who was trying to strangle him. It is all about what is reasonable under the circumstances.

Based on the facts you've laid out here, your daughter sounds completely justified and innocent. If she has been charged, however, my guess is that the police report reads very differently. If so, her only option is to fight the case.

Yes, she should be charged, however she has a great defense. If she is able to substantiate her defense, she should be acquitted.

Defense of a third party is a possible legal defense here, but she will really need to have an attorney look at the specific facts of her case and review the law to see whether it will likely do her any good.

The biggest problem is that she should have called the police. However, there is a "defense of others" defense she may be able to use. Hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to explore her options.

The decision to charge or not charge a crime rests with the local county attorney. If the county attorney has chosen to file charges, then your daughter will have to answer them. The mere fact that she was charged does not mean that she will be convicted of this crime. Your daughter may have a valid authorized use of force claim. Your daughter should speak with an attorney to evaluate the merits of such a defense in this matter.

She needs criminal defense counsel to assert the affirmative defense of defense of self or 3rd persons.