When is the Defense of Necessity Applicable in a Criminal Case?
In general, the defense of necessity is relevant when somebody does something that they wouldn't normally do because they believe it is necessary under the circumstances to do it.
In other words, they may do something illegal, but they're doing it because they believe there is no other reasonable choice. As you can guess, this defense does not come up very often because it is subject to abuse. Most criminal defense is common sense, and to use this defense, it will have to make sense under the particular facts of the case.
It will likely have to be a life-threatening situation for the defense to work. For example, if someone was in a vehicle being chased by a dangerous felon, this may warrant them running some red lights and driving too fast.
Primarily if the person pursuing them was known to be dangerous or armed with a weapon.
The reasonable person standard will likely judge this. In other words, was it necessary to break the law practical under the person's circumstances?
This would have to be judged by the trier of fact. If you are involved in a situation where you believe the necessary defense is appropriate, call and set up a consultation to go over the case step-by-step.
