Police Brutality & Civil Rights
Self-Defense & Defense of Dwelling
2 statutes with plain-language summaries, case relevance, source links, and related Michigan practice areas.
Self-Defense & Defense of Dwelling
2 statutes"An individual who has not or is not engaged in the commission of a crime at the time he or she uses force may use force against another individual anywhere he or she has the legal right to be with no duty to retreat if he or she honestly and reasonably believes that the use of that force is necessary to prevent the imminent death of or imminent great bodily harm to himself or herself or to another individual."Read Full Statute
Michigan's Self-Defense Act allows a person to use force — including deadly force — in self-defense without a duty to retreat, when they reasonably believe force is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or sexual assault.
Self-defense issues arise in police misconduct cases in two ways: whether a civilian had a legal right to defend against an officer acting unlawfully, and whether an officer's claim of self-defense was legitimate under the actual facts.
We analyze self-defense arguments from both directions — whether our client had a right to protect themselves from unlawful force, and whether the officer's self-defense justification is supported by the evidence.
"It is a rebuttable presumption in a civil or criminal case that an individual who uses deadly force or force other than deadly force under section 2 has an honest and reasonable belief that imminent death of, sexual assault of, or great bodily harm to himself, herself, or another individual will occur if he or she does not use the deadly force or force other than deadly force."Read Full Statute
Michigan law allows use of force, including deadly force in some circumstances, to defend against a forcible, unlawful entry into one's home. The statute creates a presumption that force used against an intruder in one's dwelling is reasonable.
In cases involving police entries into homes — including no-knock raids and warrantless entries — the defense of dwelling doctrine is central to both the legality of the police action and the constitutional rights of the homeowner.
We apply defense of dwelling principles in cases involving contested police home entries to establish that officers violated our clients' Fourth Amendment rights by conducting unlawful forced entries.