Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 143
PRACTICAL
LEGAL TIP
pulled her knife and stabbed Thomas’s attacker. Then, in order for
the jury to consider a legal justification defense (i.e., receive a jury
instruction from the judge), she must offer some evidence of why
she is legally justified under the law for having stabbed a man (in
this example, Melissa believed she was defending Thomas). The
result is that Melissa is entitled to have the judge instruct the jury
that they may find her “Not Guilty” because she was justified in
her action. The jury will then decide if they believe Melissa and
whether she is guilty or not guilty of the crime of aggravated
assault. On the other hand, if Melissa does not admit to the conduct
of the offense she is charged with, she will not be allowed to offer
a legal justification defense under Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal
Code. Legal justification is, therefore, literally the law of “Yes, I
did it, BUT…!”
A jury instruction is a statement
made by the judge to the jury
informing them of the law
applicable to the case in general,
or some aspect of it. —Edwin
IV. CATEGORIES OF FORCE FOR JUSTIFICATION UNDER CHAPTER 9
Anytime a person takes a physical action against another person,
they have used force. Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code divides or
categorizes uses of force into different levels. Whether or not a use
of force was justified under the law often depends on how that force
is categorized. These categories, which we will address throughout
this book, are: 1) force, 2) deadly force, and 3) the threat of force.
132 | CHAPTER SEVEN
