Self-Defense

Definition

The legal right to use reasonable force to protect yourself from imminent harm, or 'how to legally hit someone back.'

Example Usage

The defendant claimed self-defense after striking the assailant.

Origin

From English common law development

Fun Fact

Stand Your Ground laws expand self-defense by eliminating the duty to retreat, creating wildly different legal consequences depending on your state's interpretation.

Source: Criminal law and state self-defense statutes

Related Terms

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witness

Someone who saw something happen and can testify about it in court or during an investigation. The human equivalent of security footage, except with opinions and selective memory.

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Contra proferentem

A rule that ambiguous contract terms are interpreted against the party who drafted them. It rewards careful drafting and punishes anyone who wrote 'reasonable efforts' without defining it.

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choice of law provision

A clause in contracts that decides which state's laws apply if things go sideways, because apparently geography matters in legal disputes. Companies always pick the state with laws most favorable to them, which is why Delaware is very popular.

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Covenant Not to Compete

A contractual agreement restricting an employee or business owner from competing with the employer after leaving. It's basically 'you can leave but you can't go work for the enemy.'

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Proximate Cause

The legal requirement that a defendant's negligent act was the direct cause of the plaintiff's injury, not just tangentially related through a chain of increasingly absurd circumstances.

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claimant

The optimistic soul who initiates a legal claim, demanding money, benefits, or justice from someone who probably disagrees with their interpretation of events. Whether seeking unemployment benefits, insurance payouts, or damages in a lawsuit, the claimant is the one who shows up saying 'I'm owed something.' They're the protagonist in their legal story, though the defendant might describe them differently.

⚖️ Legal

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Something another company did once that worked and has now become an unquestionable commandment carved in corporate ston...