Walk It Through: The Parking Lot Fight
Shouting outside a bar, a shove, a knife in a pocket, and when force is justified.
At closing time, two groups trade insults in a parking lot, loudly enough that nearby homes call police.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One fight in a lot. An assault charge and its degrees, defense of others, and restoring firearm rights are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Domestic abuse protection orderA court order for a victim of domestic abuse that can bar contact, remove the respondent from the residence, give temporary custody for up to ninety days, and bar firearms, for at least one year but not more than two years.
- KnifeUnder the weapons article, any dagger, dirk, knife or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inches that, as used or intended, can produce death or serious bodily injury, and any other dangerous instrument used to cut, stab or tear.
- Prohibited personA person the weapons article bars from possessing a firearm, including anyone previously convicted of a felony, a fugitive from justice, a person knowingly violating a current protection order, and a person convicted within the past seven years of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
- Deadly forceForce a person uses that is justifiable only where the person believes it necessary to protect against death, serious bodily harm, kidnapping, or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat.
- RetreatWithdrawing to avoid a confrontation. Deadly force is not justifiable where the person knows it can be avoided with complete safety by retreating, but no one need retreat from their dwelling or place of work unless they were the initial aggressor.
- Disturbing the peaceIntentionally disturbing the peace and quiet of any person, family or neighborhood, a Class III misdemeanor.