Self Defense

Self Defense isn’t a criminal charge, it is a theory of defense. When properly raised at trial, the burden is on the Government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused was not engaged in justifiable self defense. Self defense can be a powerful defense to raise in a variety of cases. Self defense is commonly at issue in cases of:

• Murder

• Battery / Aggravted Battery

• Assault / Aggravated Assault

Self defense can be raised in pretrial motions before the judge, and at trial in front of the jury. Properly raising the issue pretrial, or securing an instruction at trial that empowers the jury to find that the accused was acting in self defense, takes an experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney. Thayer has experience properly raising and arguing self defense in misdemeanor and felony cases, securing dismissals and reductions in charges for people accused of violent crimes. If self defense can be argued, Thayer will spend the time to thoroughly explore whether it is a viable defense for your case.