Protecting yourself and those around you is crucial: watching for suspicious activity, avoiding potentially dangerous situations, recognizing medical emergencies, and more. However, some instances occur that require action from bystanders. From someone choking to someone attacking you, it is necessary to know your rights to protect yourself or to help those around you. Legally, these are the system of good samaritan laws, self-defense laws, and laws of self-defense carriers.
One group of laws that allows society to be more prepared to address emergencies are Good Samaritan laws. These laws protect ordinary citizens from legal or trials of tout if something goes wrong as they are non-negligibly helping someone in urgent need. According to the New Jersey Supreme Court, bystanders do not need to help if they see an emergency. What it does is create the precedence where, if you act out of good faith and try to help someone in need, you will be immune from any legal liability and criminal prosecution. In essence, Good Samaritan laws protect those who will help. Many studies show if CPR is needed, the first minutes make the difference between survival and death, often before professionals can arrive, and so bystanders who can attempt to help could save a life.
While Good Samaritan laws protect those who help others, there are also laws that protect you when you protect yourself—these are self-defense laws. Under New Jersey law, any person can avoid prosecution or get a reduced sentence if they acted out of self-defense. Self-defense is true if someone is attacking you and you are defending yourself, or if someone is attacking someone else and you protect them (also a case of using Good Samaritan laws). However, there are multiple exclusions and terms to use a self-defense plea. For one, self-defense cannot be claimed if you provoke an attacker with the intent of using force to attack them back. Additionally, you cannot escalate violence in self-defense—for example, you cannot claim self-defense by using a knife in a fistfight. Also, you cannot use self-defense if being arrested or confronted by police or law enforcement officers unless they are using unnecessary and unlawful force.
An important aspect of self-defense laws in New Jersey implicates self-defense carries: devices or substances you carry to use as self-defense. Carries can be pepper spray and mace. Although they are both classified as a weapon they are exceptions to most weapons rules. For example, you can carry them as long as you are at least 18 years old and have no criminal record.
It is of the utmost importance to keep yourself safe and very important to keep those around you safe if you can. That being said, it is important to know your rights to defend yourself and help others. For more information, please see the Good Samaritan laws, self-defense laws, and self-defense devices and substances in New Jersey.
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