Dear PAO,There was an altercation between my cousin and W. W allegedly sustained serious injuries and because of that, he filed a criminal complaint against my cousin. My cousin claims that he merely defended himself and it was W who attacked him.
We were told by a personnel at the Hall of Justice that my cousin should be able to prove that he was attacked first by W and that such attack is unjustifiable in order to sustain his claim of self-defense. Allegedly, if my cousin could not prove this, then he can be held liable for the injuries sustained by W. Is this correct? Isn't it the responsibility of W, as the complainant, to prove that my cousin committed the crime? Please advise.
However, when the accused invokes self-defense, the burden of proof is shifted from the prosecution to the defense, and it becomes incumbent upon the accused to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, the existence of the following requisites of self-defense: first, unlawful aggression on the part of the victim; second, reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel such aggression; and third, lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending himself.
Has The Burden To Prove Self-Defense
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