M Civ JI 174.12 Felonious and Intentional Killing: Defense of Others - Definition

A killing is in defense of another if, at the time of the act, all of the following existed:

(a) [ Name of respondent ] honestly and reasonably believed that [ name of person defended ] was in danger of being killed or of receiving serious bodily harm.

(b) Respondent honestly and reasonably believed that the use of force was immediately necessary to defend [ name of person defended ] from this danger.

(c) Respondent used only the amount of force that appeared to [ him / her ] necessary at the time to defend [ name of person defended ] from this danger.

Although [ he / she ] may have been mistaken as to the extent of the actual danger, [ he / she ] is to be judged by the circumstances as they appeared to [ him / her ] at the time of the act.

Note on Use

This instruction should be inserted in the second section b of M Civ JI 174.02 if applicable.

Comment

See People v Heflin (People v Landrum), 434 Mich 482, 502-503; 456 NW2d 10 (1990). See also the Commentary to CJI2d 7.21 Defense of Others-Deadly Force and CJI2d 7.15 Use of Deadly Force in Self-Defense.

History

M Civ JI 174.12 was added February 1986. Amended December 1, 2002.​