The following are defenses that the defendant may raise in response to the plaintiff’s intentional tort claim:

1. Consent
2. Self-Defense
3. Defense of Others
4. Defense of Property
5. Recapture of Chattels
6. Necessity
7. Arrest
8. Justification

Necessity

• In order to prevent great harm to other persons (3rd parties) or the defendant, the defendant has a privilege to harm the land or chattels of another where it is necessary.
  • Public necessity: the defendant is privileged to harm the property of another in order to prevent great harm to the public as a whole.
    • Privilege of public necessity exists where interference with land or chattels of another reasonably appears necessary to prevent a disaster to a substantial number of individuals.
    • Defendant does not need to pay for damages
    • Common law: community that is saved will not necessarily be required to pay for damages.
  • Private necessity: The defendant is privileged to harm the property of another in order to prevent injury to himself (or his private property) or to a third party’s person .
    • Privilege exists if there is no less-damaging way to prevent the harm.
    • Defendant needs to pay for the damages.

Arrest

• Officer Arrests
  • With warrant: With an arrest warrant that appears to be correctly issued, a police officer will not be held liable for executing an arrest even if there was no probable cause or the actions taken to obtain the warrant were improper.
  • No warrant: Warrantless arrest may be made for a breach of the peace or for a felony that is being committed in his presence or appears about to be committed in his presence.
    • If a felony has already been committed, an officer may make a warrantless arrest provided that he reasonably believes he has the right person and that the felony has been committed.
    • Warrantless arrest cannot be made for a past breach of peace, unless the breach of peace was committed in his presence AND he is in fresh pursuit.
    • Warrantless arrest cannot be made for a misdemeanor under common law.
      • Varies by state if misdemeanor was committed in the officer’s presence.
• Citizen Arrest
  • A citizen may make a warrantless arrest for:
    • a felony or breach of peace that is in the process of being committed or appears about to be committed in her presence.
      • The felony must in fact been committed in order for the arrest to be valid.
• Reasonable Force
  • Courts have held that an officer is privileged to use deadly force to prevent a felony if human life or safety is threatened by the felony.
  • After a felony has already been committed, officers have a right to use deadly force IF it is to prevent the suspect’s escape AND the officer has probable cause to believe that significant threat of serious physical injury or death to the officer or the community is posed by the suspect.
    • Supreme Court decision: Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985).

Justification

•  If the defendant’s actions result from “good reasons” but do not fall under any of the previously mentioned defenses, the defendant may still be entitled to the general defense of justification.