Criminal Culpability
Some aspects of a person may make them not criminally responsible for their behavior. Chapter I, Subpart C of Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes addresses those states that impact a person’s culpability for an offense. These may be characteristics of the person (age), mental states of the person (intoxication, insanity), a level of knowledge that the person has (mistake of fact, mistake of law), or defenses a person may be able to raise (self-defense, justification, or defense of others).
The criminal code states that the following people are exempt from criminal responsibility:
A person under the age of 10 (La. R.S 14:13);
A person who, because of a “mental disease or mental defect” is incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to the alleged criminal conduct (La. R.S. 14:14);
A person who is intoxicated when the intoxicated state was involuntary on the part of the offender and the intoxicated state directly caused the commission of the crime (La. R.S. 14:15);
The criminal code also establishes the following specific defenses:
A person who is intoxicated and that intoxication has precluded the presence of specific intent or special knowledge required for a particular crime (La R.S. 14:15);
Reasonable ignorance of a fact or a mistake of fact which precludes the presence of any mental element required in that crime (La. R.S. 14:16);
A mistake of the law when the offender reasonably relied on an act of the legislature in repealing an existing criminal law or otherwise purporting to make the conduct lawful, or reasonably relying on a final judgment of a court making the criminal law unconstitutional (La. R.S. 14:17);
The conduct was justified (La. R.S. 14:18) because:
it was “an apparently authorized and reasonable fulfillment of any duties of a public office;”
it was “a reasonable accomplishment of an arrest which is lawful under the Code of Criminal Procedure;”
the conduct is otherwise authorized by law;
it is reasonable discipline of a minor by her parents, teachers, or tutors;
when it is the result of a failure to perform a duty which is physically impossible;
when the crime (other than murder) is committed because of threats of death or great bodily harm and the offender reasonably believes the person making the threats has the ability to follow-through; or
when the crime is in defense of a person or property.
Self defense is codified in La. R.S. 14:19 and allows for the use of force under the following circumstances:
to prevent a forcible offense against the person or trespass against property in his lawful possession, provided that the force is reasonable and “apparently necessary” to prevent the offense; or
to prevent the entry by or to compel the exit of another into a “dwelling, place of business, or motor vehicle” in which the person is located at the beginning of the conflict and the person reasonably believes that the use of force is is necessary to prevent the entry or compel the exit.
This statute does not permit the use of force in either circumstance when it results in a homicide, but La. R.S. 14:20 states that a homicide is justifiable when:
Committed by a person who reasonably believes he is in danger of losing his life or receiving great bodily harm and the killing is necessary to save himself.
Committed by a person to prevent a violent or forcible felony that he reasonably believes involves danger of death or great bodily harm. He must also reasonably believe that his own life or safety would be at risk if he attempted to stop the felony without deadly force.
Committed by a person to prevent unlawful force against a person lawfully in a building, business, or motor vehicle by a person he believes is in the midst of committing a burglary or robbery.
A person who is the aggressor in a conflict cannot claim self-defense unless he first withdraws from the conflict in good faith and in such a way that his opponent knows or should know that he intends to withdraw. (La. R.S. 14:21) It is also justifiable to use reasonable force or violence or to kill in defense of another under those circumstances when that person could have defended himself and when it is reasonably believed that the intervention is necessary to protect the other. (La. R.S. 14:22)
If you have questions about a potential case and would like to set up a consult, give us a call at (318) 459-9111.