A homeowner sees a trespasser entering his property late at night. Believing the person to be an armed intruder, the homeowner strikes the individual with a baseball bat and causes severe injuries. It is later determined the trespasser was unarmed and was retrieving a wrongly delivered package. What is the homeowner’s best defense to a claim of battery?
The correct answer is defense of self and others because it establishes that the homeowner had a reasonable belief that they were in immediate danger of serious harm and acted to protect themselves. The key lies in the reasonableness of the homeowner’s belief, not whether the intruder was actually armed. Consent does not apply because the trespasser’s conduct didn’t imply or communicate consent to the use of force. Necessity is also not applicable since it is a defense against liability for property damage or trespass due to urgent circumstances, not physical harm to a person.
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What constitutes a reasonable belief in self-defense?
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How does the defense of necessity differ from self-defense?
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Why isn't consent a valid defense in this scenario?