Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) (2016)

Title 39.  Criminal Offenses  

Chapter 11.  General Provisions  

Part 6.  Justification Excluding Criminal Responsibility

39-11-609.  Necessity. 

Except as provided in §§ 39-11-611 — 39-11-616, 39-11-620 and 39-11-621, conduct is justified, if:

(1) The person reasonably believes the conduct is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm; and

(2) The desirability and urgency of avoiding the harm clearly outweigh the harm sought to be prevented by the law proscribing the conduct, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness.