Necessity

Question 1

CL Necessity Defense (elements)

Answer 1

1. actor must be faced with clear and imminent danger or evil
2. actors must rsbly believe that his act will be directly effective to abate danger or evil
3. Must be no legal alternative in abating danger/evil
4. Legislature must not have acted to preclude the defense by a clear and deliberate choise regarding the values at issue
5. harm caused must be less than (not disproportionate) harm avoided

not defense to murder

first two are triggering conditions; last 3 satisfy necessity and proportionality

Question 2

prinicples

Answer 2

residual jusitifcation defense; not preempted
1. permits jury to acquit if legislautre had opportunity to intervene
2. irrational to deny a defense to somone whose conduct results in an outcame which although unlawful, society prefers
3. harm cause must be less than the harm avoided

Question 3

MPC Choice of Evils Defense

Answer 3

1. does not have immence requirement
2. only requires D believe (subj.) the conduct is necessary to avoid greater harm
3. does not rule out choise of evils defense in murder casesc
4. principle of double effect

Question 4

double effect

Answer 4

taking of innocent life can be justified where death is permitted, but not intended (causation is irrelevant)

MPC does not rule out doublt effect as a defense even when killing is intentional to save other innocent lives

Question 5

double effect (broken down into elements)

Answer 5

1. act itself must be morally good (cannot be intrinsically evil)
2. cannot will bad effect, but may permit it; if can attain without bad effect, must do so
3. good effect must be produced directly by the action, not by bad effect
4. good effect must be sufficiently desirable to compensate for allowing bad effect

can be actual and proximate cause and have no criminal culpability; causation is irrelevant to double effect principle