A woman and her friend are having coffee in a café when a stranger tries to join their conversation. Despite being ignored, the stranger persists and starts nudging the friend's arm with increasing force. Finally, the stranger pushes the friend with such force that she falls over. In response, the woman punches the stranger hard in the face.
Can the woman claim self-defence for punching a stranger in the face?
A woman and her friend are having coffee in a café when a stranger tries to join their conversation. Despite being ignored, the stranger persists and starts nudging the friend's arm with increasing force. Finally, the stranger pushes the friend with such force that she falls over. In response, the woman punches the stranger hard in the face.
Can the woman claim self-defence for punching a stranger in the face?
She can rely on self-defence if she believed force was necessary, and the amount of force was reasonable in the circumstances as she believed them to be.
(B) There are two aspects to self-defence as a legal defence. The first is the trigger, which asks whether the defendant believed that the use of force was necessary. This is a subjective test. The second aspect is the response, which asks whether the amount of force used was reasonable given the circumstances as the defendant reasonably perceived them. This part of the test is objective. It's worth noting that self-defence can be used to protect oneself, another person, or property.
It's important to note that options (D) and (E) are incorrect, as they incorrectly describe the trigger test as being objective.
Similarly, option (A) is incorrect, as it describes the response as subjective.