Home > Research Legal Advice > Criminal Defense > Can my friend's action be justified as self-defense?
Asked 11 months ago - Milwaukee, WI
FlagMy friend's girlfriend was about to get "jumped" and my friend stepped in and pulled a gun out on them. Can his actions be justified as defense if they were gonna "jump" his girlfriend and that there were reasons for him to believe they may have had a gun?
What is he charged with?
If he reasonably believed there was an imminent unlawful threat to his girlfriend, and she would have been entitled to use similar force in her own defense, and if he reasonably believed that the force he used or threatened to use was necessary to protect her, he may have a defense to a charge based on the act of pulling the gun to protect her. If the defense is factually in play, the State will need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not lawfully acting in her defense.
If he is charged with unlawfully possessing or carrying the weapon, the legal analysis is different.
While not technically "self" defense, it may that he was legally acting "in defense of others." It would be very fact-specific, but a person can generally act to defend others as well as themselves, assuming their actions were reasonable and did not go beyond what was necessary to address the imminent threat.
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