Iowa Criminal Jury Instructions
CHAPTER 400 JUSTIFICATION

400.3 Justification — Defense Not Available.

If any of the following is true, the defendant’s use of force was not justified:

1. The defendant did not have a reasonable belief that it was necessary to use force to prevent an injury or loss.

2. The defendant used unreasonable force under the circumstances.

3. The defendant was participating in [name of forcible felony]* [a riot] [a duel].

4. The defendant was [not lawfully present] [engaged in illegal activity]** in the place where [he] [she] used force, [he] [she] made no effort to retreat, and retreat was a reasonable alternative to using force.

If the State has proved any of these beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant’s use of force was not justified.

Authority

Iowa Code sections 704.1, 704.3, 704.6, 704.7

State v. Fordyce, 940 N.W.2d 419 (Iowa 2020)

State v. Baltazar, 935 N.W.2d 862 (Iowa 2019)

Comment

Note: Only use those elements that are supported by the evidence.

Note: *If the forcible-felony option is included, include the marshaling instruction for the applicable felony and reference back to this instruction.

Note: **If the engaged-in-illegal-activity option is included, include the marshaling instruction for the applicable crime and reference back to this instruction. The Iowa Supreme Court has left open the question of whether the duty to retreat involves only illegal activities germane to the use of force. State v. Baltazar, 935 N.W.2d 862, 871 (Iowa 2019).

Updated 6/2020

 

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