California First-Year Law Students' Exam (Baby Bar) — MCCriminal LawMedium
A client, while hiking in a remote wilderness area, becomes disoriented and lost. After several days without food or water, facing imminent starvation and dehydration, the client breaks into a remote, uninhabited cabin and consumes emergency rations found inside. The client is later found and charged with burglary and larceny. Which defense is most applicable to the client's actions?
- ASelf-defense, against the elements.
- BNecessity, to prevent imminent death.
- CDuress, due to the extreme environmental conditions.
- DInsanity, due to the stress of being lost.
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Necessity, to prevent imminent death.
The defense of necessity applies when a defendant commits a crime to prevent a greater harm. Here, the client faced imminent death from starvation and dehydration, a greater harm than the property crimes committed (burglary and larceny of rations). The client chose the 'lesser evil' to preserve their life.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Self-defense applies to defending against physical harm from another person, not environmental elements.
- C. Duress typically involves coercion by another human, not environmental conditions.
- D. Insanity requires a severe mental disease or defect causing the defendant to lack capacity, which is not indicated here.
Necessity (Criminal Law)
A defense where a person commits a crime to prevent a greater harm from occurring, often referred to as the 'choice of evils' defense.
- Defendant faced with a choice between two evils and chose the lesser.
- Harm avoided must be greater than the harm caused by the criminal act.
- Defendant must reasonably believe the action was necessary to avoid the harm.
Memory trick: Defend with a choice, or face the law's tough voice.