Opinion ID: 1717401
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: defense theories of justification, self-defense and defense of third parties

Text: Rich contends that the trial court erred in refusing to give proposed jury instructions on defense theories of justification, self-defense, and defense of others. SDCL 22-18-4 [4] authorizes the use of force necessary to defend one's self from injury or to aid or defend another person. The statute can only be interpreted to allow what would otherwise be unlawful force in situations of imminent necessity. Unless the individual situation required an immediate response necessary to prevent unlawful force from being inflicted upon Rich or another, the statute is not applicable. The settled rule in this state is that a trial court need not instruct on matters that find no support in the evidence. State v. Chamley, 310 N.W.2d 153, 155 (S.D.1981). Rich contended at trial that he never stabbed Terry Brown or anyone else with a pitchfork. Where a defendant asserts that he never committed the assaultive act for which he is charged, a defense of self-defense is clearly inconsistent and no instruction need be given. The evidentiary basis for a self-defense instruction must be squared with this court's prior statements on situations where the evidence indicates that the defendant was the aggressor. In State v. Means, 276 N.W.2d 699 (S.D.1979), this court cited with approval Dawkins v. Commonwealth, 186 Va. 55, 41 S.E.2d 500 (1947), which held that conditions brought about by one's own conduct may not be relied upon to invoke the excuse of self-defense. Id. at 701. Later in Means, supra, this court stated that the result of his conduct was to invite a confrontation; he thereby precluded himself from claiming that he had a legal excuse, i.e., self-defense or coming to the defense of another[.] Id. at 702. [5] Rich was not at the Eagle Tail residence when the alleged aggressive behavior by the Brown group began. He choose to go to the area of conflict. He chose to respond in an aggressive, rather than conciliatory, manner. In the time taken to drive to the Eagle Tail residence and take up weapons, the police could easily have been summoned to respond to any threatening situation. Rich voluntarily entered into the conflict which resulted in the assault and was precluded from any instruction on justification, self-defense or defense of others.