Q: I’m 17 and my sister(18) told me that this kid (14) keeps beating on his mom is it legal for me to fight him?
His mom says the courts keep dismissing the domestic violence charges (7 so far) due to the fact that he is unfit for trial
A: If you actually see him attacking her you have the right to defend her, but only to the same level as she is being attacked (if he's using his fists you can't use a knife, for example) and only until the attacker stops attacking or runs away (meaning you can't keep attacking him if he stops and you can't chase him with the intent of continuing an attack on him, although you can chase him away without continuing the attack). You do not have the right to beat someone up because he has beaten someone else up in the past or to keep him from doing so in the future. In other words, your right to defend someone else is the same as the right that person has to defend himself or herself.
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