[nickb]

heres one for you, one day my son was a t a party in which one of his friends got into a fight, during the fight somebody else had stepped into the fight making it a 2v1 situation, my son stepped in to break the fight up, at this time one of the other kids swung at my son but missed, as a natural reaction my son swung back and hit the kid, after he hit the kid my son got jumped 6v1 and beaten pretty badly, bruises cuts on his hands, eyes, lips, bloody nose and scrapes all over his body, it turns out that the kid my son hit 1 time, went to the hospital with a shattered oribital eye socket, and is now pressing Battery charges on my son, (B.I. or with a deadly weapon) which is a class C felony, my question is that, doesnt that constitute self defense and or defense of others? another question i have is could this fall under Mutual combat? i just dont see how my son is being charged with battery when the kid swung at him first, also my son only hit the kid 1 time and then got jumped by 6 other people? we have already hired and attorny but what is your advice?

[aaron]

Self-defense is ordinarily an affirmative defense, meaning that your son would have the burden of proving that he was acting in self-defense (or in the defense of others) at the time he struck the alleged victim. Typically, the defendant must also demonstrate that the amount of force used was reasonable under the circumstances. It can be a tricky defense, particuarly in a fracas like the one you describe, so it is probably best that your lawyer guide your son through the legal issues involved.

Your son is lucky in one respect - I've seen people charged with manslaughter in "one punch" cases, where the victim suffers a head injury (usually when hitting the floor) and dies.