Defending Yourself Against an Imminent Physical Attack

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York and New Jersey

What can i do if someone physically attacks me which I perceive would cause me severe harm ? Would hitting them back stand water in court ?

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Quoting anal

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York and New Jersey

What can i do if someone physically attacks me which I perceive would cause me severe harm ? Would hitting them back stand water in court ?

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What have you been charged with, and what is your attorney saying about it?

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Quoting anal

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York and New Jersey

What can i do if someone physically attacks me which I perceive would cause me severe harm ? Would hitting them back stand water in court ?

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Tell us what happened to you, where it happened and what specific statute you are being charged with.

It sounds like this may not have happened, yet ? Maybe they want to know ahead of time what to do or not to do.

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Quoting anal

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My question involves criminal law for the state of: New York and New Jersey

What can i do if someone physically attacks me which I perceive would cause me severe harm ? Would hitting them back stand water in court ?

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If someone physically attacks you (touches you, pushes you, etc..) they have already committed battery . That is a crime. There is no perceived harm at that point.

If someone threatens you with bodily harm and you perceive that they have the ability and means to carry it out, that is an assault, also a crime.

When you are in a situation where there is an assault, you call the police or have someone else call the police. You avoid the physical confrontation until the police arrive. You can have the person charged with assault. But once you engage in a physical altercation, the facts will determine who committed a battery on who.

It is always best avoid a physical confrontation if you can put your ego in your pocket.

It sounds as if someone is looking for us to give him a blanket permission to beat someone up as long as the other person throws the first punch. Possibly even if the OP only THINKS the other person is about to throw the first punch.

Sorry, not gonna happen. Details matter.

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Quoting budwad

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If someone physically attacks you (touches you, pushes you, etc..) they have already committed battery . That is a crime. There is no perceived harm at that point.

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Correct. And unless the force utilized in self defense was necessary to avoid further harm, then any retaliatory conduct can be a separate battery and NOT "self defense."

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If someone threatens you with bodily harm and you perceive that they have the ability and means to carry it out, that is an assault, also a crime.

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This varies by state law as this would not be "assault" in my state.

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When you are in a situation where there is an assault, you call the police or have someone else call the police. You avoid the physical confrontation until the police arrive. You can have the person charged with assault. But once you engage in a physical altercation, the facts will determine who committed a battery on who.

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Yep. And all parties can be charged with crimes.

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It is always best avoid a physical confrontation if you can put your ego in your pocket.

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Yep!

And just to note; water does not "stand up" anywhere, including in Court. It just runs downhill...

1. Some very funny answers
2. I am not looking for a blanket permission on anything
3. I am asking what kind of offensive action would be ok legally if you were threatened. A few instances and potential outcome, lets say a group of people corner you and do not let you escape (maybe your 6th sense tells you they might harm you with a GUN) , then can you use gun / physical force to get out ?

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Quoting anal

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1. Some very funny answers
2. I am not looking for a blanket permission on anything
3. I am asking what kind of offensive action would be ok legally if you were threatened. A few instances and potential outcome, lets say a group of people corner you and do not let you escape (maybe your 6th sense tells you they might harm you with a GUN) , then can you use gun / physical force to get out ?

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Not in NJ. If you have a gun on you, it is a crime. Even if you are attacked with a gun you can't use yours. That is the law if you're outside your residence.

If your're inside your residence, you must retreat before you can fire your weapon to protect yourself.

Go ahead and google "self defense laws" for New York and New Jersey. You'll get your answers there and save us the trouble of looking it up for you.

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Quoting anal

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1. Some very funny answers
2. I am not looking for a blanket permission on anything
3. I am asking what kind of offensive action would be ok legally if you were threatened. A few instances and potential outcome, lets say a group of people corner you and do not let you escape (maybe your 6th sense tells you they might harm you with a GUN) , then can you use gun / physical force to get out ?

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1. Thanks, we do what we can.
2. Good.
3. Google is your friend.

Anything else?

Wow, what an odd world we live in.

Police only have to say they believe there might be a threat and they can blow your brains out.

Civilians have to literally be punched 1st then "maybe" we can fight back. That's nuts.

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Quoting QuestionAuthority

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Wow, what an odd world we live in.

Police only have to say they believe there might be a threat and they can blow your brains out.

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That IS an odd world ... in the world I live and work in we cannot simply shoot someone because they "might be a threat" ... it's more involved than that. But, don't you worry, officers are getting assaulted more right now because they are becoming afraid to resort to necessary force to protect themselves - I'm sure you are glad to see that.

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Civilians have to literally be punched 1st then "maybe" we can fight back. That's nuts.

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Well, I suppose we could resort to vigilante justice where we are able to attack anyone we feel like because they look at us funny ... that's not a civilized society I'd like to live in.

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Quoting QuestionAuthority

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Wow, what an odd world we live in.

Police only have to say they believe there might be a threat and they can blow your brains out.

Civilians have to literally be punched 1st then "maybe" we can fight back. That's nuts.

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I'm asking this seriously, so don't take offense. The question is not meant to offend you.

Have you graduated high-school?

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Quoting Dogmatique

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I'm asking this seriously, so don't take offense. The question is not meant to offend you.

Have you graduated high-school?

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Sure I have but what difference does it make?

Why ridicule a statement instead of trying maybe to inform me why it may be wrong. Try helping people and not bashing them for having different opinions.

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That IS an odd world ... in the world I live and work in we cannot simply shoot someone because they "might be a threat" ... it's more involved than that. But, don't you worry, officers are getting assaulted more right now because they are becoming afraid to resort to necessary force to protect themselves - I'm sure you are glad to see that.

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I do not support violence from either side. Crazy that you go straight to worse case scenario. I always assumed being a police officer carried some risk. It wasn't like they were conscripted into the police force, they signed up. What I am glad about is that some of the most blatant excessive uses of force are getting charged. Although it remains to be seen whether they get convicted of anything.