Charles L. Cotton wrote:longtooth wrote:Lawyers or legal eagles:
#1. What is the legal term used for breaking one law to keep a greater harm from taking place if the law was not broken.
"Necessity" TPC §9.22.
TPC §9.22 - Necessity wrote:Sec. 9.22. NECESSITY. Conduct is justified if:
(1) the actor reasonably believes the conduct is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm;
(2) the desirability and urgency of avoiding the harm clearly outweigh, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the harm sought to be prevented by the law proscribing the conduct; and
(3) a legislative purpose to exclude the justification claimed for the conduct does not otherwise plainly appear.
That word "clearly" is where you can get in trouble. In the case of the Luby's shootings in Killeen, killing the shooter would have clearly been justified, even if you broke the law by having a gun in the restaurant. In a case where someone breaks into your garage and steals some tools, and you spot him running down the alley with your tools, clearly isn't so clear any more.