| Criminal defenses |
|---|
| Part of the common law series |
| Insanity · Immunity · Mental disorder Diminished responsibility Intoxication · Infancy Automatism · Alibi Consent · Mistake Duress · Necessity Provocation Self defense False confession · Entrapment |
| See also Criminal law and procedure |
| Other common law areas |
| Criminal · Contract · Tort Property wills · Trusts and estates Evidence |
| Portals |
| Law · Criminal justice |
Son assault demesne, or "his own first assault," is a form of a plea to justify an assault and battery, by which the defendant asserts that the plaintiff committed an assault upon him, and the defendant merely defended himself. When the plea is supported by evidence, it is a sufficient justification, unless the retaliation by the defendant were excessive,[1] and bore no proportion to the necessity, or to the provocation received.[2] Character evidence that the plaintiff was noted for quarrelsomeness is generally admissible where an answer of son assault demesne is filed.[3]
This article incorporates text from A LAW DICTIONARY, adapted to the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, and of the several states of the American union : with references to the civil and other systems of foreign law, Volume 2, by John Bouvier, a publication from 1883 now in the public domain in the United States.