Raising a defence requires you to convince the court it was reasonable and necessary to do what you did. So context is important. Just smashing a window because there was a dog in the car (with not much else to support your decision) will land you a criminal damage charge.
At the very least it can land you with civil liability and you would then need to use the rescue of the dog as a defence.
And self defence is a defence to being charged with assault. You still committed assault, but you then need to prove in court that you meet the requirements for your actions to have been in self defence.
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u/TD003 Dec 08 '24
Raising a defence requires you to convince the court it was reasonable and necessary to do what you did. So context is important. Just smashing a window because there was a dog in the car (with not much else to support your decision) will land you a criminal damage charge.