Under Arizona law, you can legally defend yourself against the oncoming danger another person poses. Unfortunately, the use of excessive force to protect yourself can result in the death of another person. This could result in an arrest and criminal homicide charges.

The consequences of a homicide criminal conviction are severe and life-changing. In addition to spending a lengthy time behind bars, the conviction will enter your criminal record. You can avoid a conviction for the offense by building a solid defense against your charges. Self-defense is a common defense strategy for homicide.

The “self-defense” strategy requires you to prove that the alleged victim posed a threat to your safety and that you believed you had to use force for your protection. When applied to a homicide case, a self-defense argument requires thoroughly examining the incident's circumstances. Therefore, you will require the guidance of a reliable criminal defense attorney.

An Overview of Self-Defense in Criminal Cases

You will be arrested and charged with homicide if you cause the death of another person. This could result from acts of violence or accidents, depending on the circumstances. You have a right to defend yourself and other people against potential harm. Arizona law allows you to use deadly force against another person if they threaten your safety.

A conviction for homicide attracts severe legal and collateral consequences. Fortunately, there are several defenses you can use to fight the charges, including self-defense. When you use the self-defense argument in your homicide case, you accept liability for the victim's death.

Asserting this defense in a homicide case involves arguing that your actions against another person were geared towards protecting yourself from the danger they presented. Self-defense works on the belief that you should not be held criminally liable for using force to protect yourself from a situation that could result in severe injury or death.

The instinct to protect yourself when your life's in danger is reasonable and natural. The law permits you to take the necessary actions for your protection.

The Legal Framework of Self-defense

Self-defense is a common defense strategy for a homicide case under Arizona law. However, raising a successful self-defense argument does not lead solely to the belief that you had perceived fear of a particular situation. Your situation must meet specific legal requirements for a successful argument of self-defense.

This ensures that defendants do not use the argument to mask unnecessary aggression given the circumstances. Your argument must meet the following threshold:

You Suffered an Imminent Threat

The threats you curtailed must have a high likelihood of occurring. A danger to your safety could be made through writing, verbal, or electronic communication. However, offensive words that do not cause reasonable fear cannot suffice as a cause of imminent threat.

The justifiable use of force against another person ends when the thread has finished. For example, if you are in an argument with a lover and they brandish a weapon threatening to kill you, you can use the necessary force against them to protect yourself.

However, the legal justification for using force against the alleged aggressor will end when they walk away from you. If you follow the person and use force against them, you may not be able to claim that you acted in self-defense.

You Had a Reasonable Fear of Harm

Reasonable fear of harm occurs when the actions or threats of the alleged victim cause you to believe that they could carry out the threat and cause you harm. When determining the validity of your self-defense argument in a homicide case, the prosecution will compare your actions to those of a reasonable person.

Reasonable Believe that You Needed to React

While there are no stand-your-ground laws in Arizona, you are not required to prove that you attempted to de-escalate the situation by removing yourself from the scene.

This means you have the right to act appropriately to defend yourself or another person when there is imminent danger of harm or death. When asserting this defense, you must prove that you reasonably believed you needed to use deadly force for your protection.

Your reaction to the situation will be compared to that of a reasonable person under similar circumstances. If a reasonable person could have reacted by using force on the aggressor, your defense would be successful.

You Used Reasonable force Against the Alleged Victim

When asserting self-defense, you must prove to the court that the amount of force you used against the alleged victim matches the level of danger they posed in your life. Arizona law has guidelines on when physical and deadly force can be used for personal protection and protecting others. If you use more force than necessary, given the circumstances, you cannot avoid a homicide conviction.

For example, if a person punches you, your first reaction is to punch them back or push them away. If, while doing this, you cause their death, you can argue that you use a force that is reasonable for protection. However, if a person punches you and you pull out a firearm and shoot them, your argument of self-defense may not be successful. This is because the use of a weapon is unnecessary in this case.

Imperfect Self Defense

The concept of imperfect self-defense applies when a person genuinely believes they are at risk of physical harm, which is not reasonable by a normal person's standards. If the person uses force to neutralize the perceived dangerous situation, the legal situation will be considered imperfect self-defense.

An imperfect self-defense does not excuse you from your homicide crime. However, it can help lessen the legal consequences of your conviction.

Castle Doctrine in Arizona

Castle doctrine establishes that each individual has the right to use force or threats in specific locations without the duty to retreat from an aggressive situation. Castle doctrine mainly protects the right to defend yourself, your loved ones, or your property using the appropriate force in a protected area.

For example, if an intruder comes to your home and threatens you and your family, you are allowed to use deadly force against them to protect yourself.

Limitations on the Justification of Excessive Force as Self-Defense

ARS 13-404 outlines the conditions under which the use of force against another person is justifiable. There is an emphasis that the threat against you must be reasonable from an average person's point of view.

The use of force cannot be justified as self-defense under the following circumstances:

• Verbal provocation. Arizona law is clear that verbal provocation without any action is not enough to use excessive force against someone. This aims to prevent the escalation of verbal confrontations that do not pose a danger of harm.
• Resisting arrest. The use of physical force is not justified when you're facing an arrest in Arizona. Whether or not the arrest is lawful is not a factor in determining your reason for using force against an officer. For this reason, if you cause death to an officer during the process of arrest, you cannot use self-defense to avoid a conviction. However, there is an exception in cases where the arresting officer uses unreasonable force during your arrest.
• Provocation by the defendant. You can use self-defense in a homicide case if the alleged victim was aggressive towards you and their actions posed a danger to you. However, you cannot assert this defense for your case if you were the aggressor. However, you may be exempt from the requirement if you withdraw from the situation or communicate the intention to withdraw. Additionally, this could apply if you believe that you cannot safely exit from the situation without suffering severe injury or death.
• The threat is not immediate. Your justification for self-defense in a homicide is applicable when there is a threat to your safety. You cannot argue that you used self-defense to address a past threat.
• The use of deadly force. The force used for self-defense must be proportionate to the threat posed to you. Self-defense will not apply to your case if you use deadly force for minor threats.

Evidence Used to Prove Self-Defense in Homicide Cases

Self-defense is a complex argument, especially in severe cases like homicide. Therefore, you must have the right evidence to back your defense. The evidence in such cases is collected through the following methods:

• Crime scene reconstruction. When collecting evidence of a homicide, law enforcement officers will seek expert services in reconstructing the crime scene. This helps determine the circumstances under which the death could have occurred.
• Lab tests. In cases where you cause death to another person, DNA evidence will be collected on different surfaces. Other forms of tests that could be performed include testing you or the alleged victim for gunpowder residues.

Common pieces of evidence you can present to strengthen your self-defense argument include:

Your Testimony

Most cases of homicide occur in the presence of the victim of the defendant. Therefore, your testimony may be critical to the case. When presenting your testimony, you must convince the court of your perceived danger and your thought process to act as you did. A skilled criminal attorney will guide you on how to give your testimony.

Witness Testimony

It is easy to argue that you acted in self-defense when you caused death to another person. When the homicide occurred in a secluded area, the court will only have your account of events. However, witness testimony could be a substantial piece of evidence.

If there are individuals who witnessed the escalation of your situation to the point of causing death to one of the involved parties, their testimony may be critical for your case. With the guidance of a skilled attorney, you can present these witnesses in your case.

Forensic Evidence

When law enforcement officers evaluate the scene of the homicide and the victim, they will write a report on the suspected account of events. Evidence such as bullet trajectory and defense wounds will be recorded in these reports. With the help of your attorney, you can subpoena the police report and use this forensic evidence to prove your self-defense argument.

For example, having defensive wounds on your body indicates the presence of an altercation, which supports your argument that you were in danger.

Video Evidence

If the altercation that resulted in the death of another person in your hands occurred in a place with surveillance, you could subpoena the video evidence. Photographic and video evidence is reliable because it cannot be disputed.

Challenges of Using Homicide in Self-defense Cases

Needing to defend yourself from a dangerous situation can be frightening. In your attempt to escape the attack, you will be tempted to use force against the aggressor to assert self-defense when the situation escalates and results in criminal charges.

Using the self-defense strategy to avoid a homicide conviction is a complicated section of criminal law. While entering self-defense may seem straightforward, the defense presents many challenges for the prosecution and defense of the team.

The prosecution can only easily dismiss your case on the claim of self-defense if they are convinced of the level of danger you faced. The balance between the legal requirement to administer justice and your right to defend yourself can make the case more complicated.

Find a Reliable Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

If you are arrested and charged with homicide under the circumstances explained above, you can raise self-defense for your case. When persisting in self-defense, you must prove your reasonable belief that you were in danger of severe injury or death. Additionally, you must use enough force to protect yourself.

Developing a self-defense strategy for a homicide case requires a thorough investigation of the incident. This allows you to gather evidence, including surveillance footage, witness testimony, and communication that could have occurred between you and the victim before the crime. With this evidence, you can create a timeline and context that resulted in the confrontation.

If you or a loved one faces homicide charges in Phoenix, AZ, you will benefit from the expert legal guidance we offer at Phoenix Criminal Attorney to build a defense against your case. Call us at 602-551-8092 to discuss your case details.