YOU AND THE LAW what is required?

Question

When using your skills as a martial artist in self defense situations can you be charged under the law if the other guy started it.?

Answer 1

bieng charged and "proof" are two different animals.

usually the cops will assess the damage done in the situation, as well as the comments of people who witnessed the event and the events preceeding the fight.

how you carry yourself is 90% of what happens, unless of course the other guy's face looks like you were just making pizza with it.

odds are if you are slobbering drunk all over yourself- then it is best to keep your mouth shut and deal with it later. actually most people should do this. people feel that they can "explain" things to the cops. Best to keep it to short statements if you speak at all. most cases (and there are statistics for this that you could probably research- admittedly mine are a few years out of date) are made because the cops have a confession or a statement from the person themselves. i read it was somewhere in the neighborhood of over 90% of all people convicted, confessed to the police or made statements. moral of the story: KEEP YOUR FRIGGIN' MOUTH SHUT! A simple "he attacked me, I defended myself" is the most you should say.

it also depends on the cops involved. even if you can show it was self-defence. that might not stop them from processing you and you spending a night in jail.

however, it also depends on the size of the city.

Answer 2

It Depends on how far you or badly you beat the guy assaulting you. for instances, if A guy comes at you with a knife and you perform moves that disable (break) is arms and/or legs, and then run to get help, then it is self-defense. However, you perform a move that breaks the guys neck, or leaves him paralyzed then the law will say that "you should know the level and severity of your moves and to perform them to such a degree (such as snapping the neck and killing them) will result in a victim now using offensive and deadly tactics". In a sense the Victim is now the attacker. Same goes with military tactics and defense. Sorry.....that is how the law works (American law anyway).

Answer 3

You can be charged for using excessive force even if you were defending yourself. An example of this is picking up a knife or gun and using it on your assailant to the point that you kill him or injure him seriously. Another example is you continuing to beat on him after he can no longer defend himself or is no longer a threat to you. Most police will process it as a mutual assault thing and let the courts sort it out if they think that there is a possibility that excessive force was used but no weapons involved. When there is a weapon involved it almost always results in charges and some kind of court action for at least one of the parties-especially if both are the same sex.

Answer 4

It depends on a lot of factors.
One is where you live, of course. Country and state legislation vary.
Another is how reasonable the force used was. Responding to a drunken punch with a move that aims at permanently disabling the person will probably be viewed as excessive force.
It also depends greatly on your responsibility in the altercation. Did you really do everything you could to avoid this, or did you edge the person on? Were you walking down the street minding your own business, or looking for trouble?

Answer 5

It depends on where you live. Different states have different laws. For instance, I know that in Utah you are permitted to use lethal force within your home regardless of the threat level of the intruder up until they actually leave your premises and you are fine.
However, if you are on the street and you get into a scrap with someone, you'd best beat feet once the fight is settled because the police will view it as a situation that you could've escaped from to begin with.

Answer 6

Any self respecting martial artist will walk away any given day rathe then fight, not because he is scared of the other guy, but because he knows the consequences of his actions (jailtime, lawsuits both criminal and civil, even the possibility if getting barred from his school). If he feels that it is absolutly necessary, I have heard of guys getting jumped but right after doing whats needed, they called the cops. It doesnt make sense that if you were at fault you would call the cops, does it?

Answer 7

You can always be charged regardless of who started and whether or not you know any martial arts. It is up to the police and district attorney. Several people defending themselves have had to spend a lot of money to get out of criminal and civil charges.

Answer 8

Depends on the state law, if they even have one that covers it. Most states don't have laws because those that know enough to use martial arts know when they have used enough. Make sense Grasshopper?

Answer 9

Yes, haven't you ever seen con air?