You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him. You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.

Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation! Why didn't you call police or ambulance?

You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity. If you make a
legal right turn at a red light, do you call the highway patrol?

Are you guilty of any crime?

--
Rich

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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"RichD" wrote in message news:ee9d2ffe-73c5-41db-966d-8eb62e48487fn@googlegroups.com...

You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him. You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.

Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation! Why didn't you call police or ambulance?

You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity. If you make a
legal right turn at a red light, do you call the highway patrol?

Are you guilty of any crime?

--
Rich

There's no mandate to call 911 to report lawful activity, but in this case there was clearly an unlawful act by the attacker. Since there were no witnesses to the attack, your failure to report the crime to the police will
no doubt be held against you should the police decide to arrest you.
Assuming the attacker survives and claims you were the one who attacked
first, and in the absence of any other definitive evidence (cameras,
witnesses, nature of wounds, etc), it could come down to credibility of the witnesses. In that case, , your cred would definitely be suspect since you failed to report what happened.

--

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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"Rick" <rick@nospam.com> wrote:

"RichD" wrote

You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him. You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.

Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation! Why didn't you call police or ambulance?

You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity. If you make a
legal right turn at a red light, do you call the highway patrol?

Are you guilty of any crime?

There's no mandate to call 911 to report lawful activity, but in
this case there was clearly an unlawful act by the attacker.
Since there were no witnesses to the attack, your failure to
report the crime to the police will no doubt be held against you
should the police decide to arrest you. Assuming the attacker
survives and claims you were the one who attacked first, and in
the absence of any other definitive evidence (cameras, witnesses,
nature of wounds, etc), it could come down to credibility of the
witnesses. In that case, , your cred would definitely be suspect
since you failed to report what happened.

Normally there is no obligation to report a crime. The problem is
that, even though the other person attacks you first, if you put him
into a position where he could be in trouble, you have to report it.
You have a legal obligation not to put him into greater danger than
necessary.

--
Stu
http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

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On Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 12:41:44 AM UTC-4, RichD wrote:

You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him. You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.

Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation! Why didn't you call police or ambulance?

You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity. If you make a
legal right turn at a red light, do you call the highway patrol?

Are you guilty of any crime?

Hell, yes. You can't whack someone, even in self defense, then run and ignore the fact that he needs medical attention. I don't know what law, but I know you have a legal requirement to report the attack and get help for the attacker. Otherwise, you
are just another mugger.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tue, 29 Mar 2022 21:41:42 -0700 (PDT), RichD
<r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote:

Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation! Why didn't you call police or ambulance?

In this case you would answer the police questions with the
statement, " I refuse to answer any questions without an attorney
present."
If the case goes to trial then you can decide if you want to take
the witness stand in your own defense after consulting with your
criminal defense attorney.

--
==================================================
Anyone that isn't confused doesn't really
understand the situation.
==================================================

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On 30, Rick wrote:

You are assaulted in an isolated location.
You bop the assailant with a blackjack, KO him.
You exit toute suite, stage left. Due to delayed
medical attention, he suffers long term damage.
Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation!
You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity.
Are you guilty of any crime?

There's no mandate to call 911 to report lawful activity, but in this case there was clearly an unlawful act by the attacker. Since there were no witnesses to the attack, your failure to report the crime to the police will no doubt be held against you should the police decide to arrest you.
Assuming the attacker survives and claims you were the one who attacked first, and in the absence of any other definitive evidence, it could come down to credibility of the witnesses. In that case, your cred would definitely be suspect since you failed to report what happened.

You conflate two issues.
You concede there's no mandate to report.

But you raise another valid point. The bad guy could finger you as
the assailant. Then it's a "him vs. him" situation.

The gubmit has to convince 12 people to unanimously agree
that you are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Can they
bring such a case, with no other evidence?


--
Rich

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On March 31, Stuart O. Bronstein wrote:

You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him. You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.
Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation!
You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity.
Are you guilty of any crime?

Normally there is no obligation to report a crime. The problem is
that, even though the other person attacks you first, if you put him
into a position where he could be in trouble, you have to report it.
You have a legal obligation not to put him into greater danger than necessary.

Cite?

Also, it's unclear whether "put him into greater danger than
necessary" apples in the case described above. This is the
type of question that law students spend countless hours chewing -

--
Rich

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

"RichD" wrote in message news:b4cd8657-5ecd-473b-a49c-f39f109ca996n@googlegroups.com...

On 30, Rick wrote:

You are assaulted in an isolated location.
You bop the assailant with a blackjack, KO him.
You exit toute suite, stage left. Due to delayed
medical attention, he suffers long term damage.
Somehow, you're identified. The cops grill you
about your behavior; you can't just run from
such a situation!
You answer that your action was self defense, it
was justified and lawful. There's no mandate to
call 911 to report lawful activity.
Are you guilty of any crime?

There's no mandate to call 911 to report lawful activity, but in this
case
there was clearly an unlawful act by the attacker. Since there were no
witnesses to the attack, your failure to report the crime to the police
will
no doubt be held against you should the police decide to arrest you.
Assuming the attacker survives and claims you were the one who attacked
first, and in the absence of any other definitive evidence, it could come
down to credibility of the witnesses. In that case, your cred would
definitely be suspect since you failed to report what happened.

You conflate two issues.
You concede there's no mandate to report.

But you raise another valid point. The bad guy could finger you as
the assailant. Then it's a "him vs. him" situation.

The gubmit has to convince 12 people to unanimously agree
that you are guilty beyond reasonable doubt. Can they
bring such a case, with no other evidence?

Sure, if they have a credible witness. People are often convicted based on eyewitness testimony. In this case, if the other guy testifies and says you attacked him and if you claim he attacked you first, then it will come down
to which person does the jury believe. If it's really 50-50 where both of
you are equally credible (or even 60-40), then you go free. But if one
witness comes across as a lot more believable and credible to the jury and especially if there are other factors (such as past criminal activity or a history of filing false reports by one party or something about the nature
of your respective injuries), then the jury could very well decide against
you even if you were telling the truth.

--

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In misc.legal.moderated, on Tue, 29 Mar 2022 21:41:42 -0700 (PDT), RichD <r_delaney2001@yahoo.com> wrote:

You are assaulted in an isolated location,
the proverbial dark alley. You bop the assailant
with a blackjack, KO him.

Why are you carrying a blackjack? You sound like trouble to me.

Do you know Big Lefty? You might have met him in Sing Sing.

You exit toute suite, stage
left. Due to delayed medical attention, he suffers
long term damage.

--
I think you can tell, but just to be sure:
I am not a lawyer.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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