Self-defence
idea · 2 works · 3 mentions · 8 anchored passages
defence of one's self · lawful resistance · private defence · self-defence
in the texts
The Law of Torts
The legal doctrine permitting a person to repel unlawful force with proportionate force in defence of self, family, or property.
As to injuries received by an innocent third person from an act done in self-defence, they must be dealt with on the same principle as accidental harm proceeding from any other act lawful in itself.
Self-defence does not include the active assertion of a disputed right against an attempt to obstruct its exercise.
Self-defence (or rather private defence, for defence of one’s self is not the only case) is another ground of immunity well known to the law.
The Unconstitutionality of Slavery
The principle that resisting an unlawful assault, such as slaveholding, is lawful self-defense rather than punishable violence.
This clause, then, so far as it relates to slavery, is a guaranty against the “violence” of slaveholding, not against any necessary act of self-defence on the part of the slave.