Justification generally
Sometimes a person does something that is normally against the law, but they did it to prevent a bigger emergency from happening. If the situation was not their fault, and avoiding the emergency was more important than following the law, that person may not be guilty of a crime — but this only works for crimes that are not murder or class A felonies. A judge decides whether this defense even applies, and the person accused has to prove it themselves.
Classifications stated in the statute. Actual outcomes vary.
563.026. generally. — 1. Unless inconsistent with other of this chapter defining use of physical force, or with some other of law, conduct which would otherwise constitute any other than a or murder is justifiable and not criminal when it is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation or developed through no of the , and which is of such gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability of avoiding the injury outweighs the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense charged.
2. The necessity and justifiability of conduct under 1 of this section may not rest upon considerations pertaining only to the morality and of the statute, either in its general or with respect to its application to a particular class of cases arising thereunder. Whenever evidence relating to the under this section is offered, the court shall as a whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute a justification.
3. The defense of justification under this section is an .
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Source & history notes
(L. 1977 S.B. 60, A.L. 2014 S.B. 491) Effective 1-01-17
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