Also known as: reasonable beliefs
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A conviction about a fact or circumstance that an actor subjectively holds and that the surrounding facts objectively support as reasonable under the circumstances.
Officers arrested Ricardo Rojas inside his home on an outstanding warrant. While securing the scene, they heard movement in an adjacent closet and observed fresh footprints leading there. They conducted a limited sweep of the closet based on their reasonable belief that an armed accomplice might be hiding and posing an immediate danger.
Raphael Rivera faced an attacker who lunged with a broken bottle aimed at his face. Rivera swung a heavy flashlight in response. The facts supported his reasonable belief that the attacker intended serious bodily harm differing in kind from minor injury, justifying the level of force used.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An officer watched Rita Russell and two companions pace repeatedly in front of a jewelry store, conferring and peering inside. Their conduct created a reasonable belief that they were armed and about to commit a robbery, permitting a brief stop and pat-down for weapons.
Rosa Ruiz received repeated assurances from supervisors that her performance reviews were excellent and her position secure. These statements supported her reasonable belief that she would not be terminated without cause, forming the basis for an implied contractual term.
Regina Robinson, an auditor, reviewed financial statements and supporting documents for a client. The materials supported her reasonable belief that no material misstatements existed, satisfying the due-diligence standard for avoiding liability.
Ryan Roberts's wife faced an abusive husband who had previously threatened retaliation in custody proceedings. The circumstances supported her reasonable belief that notification would trigger bodily or psychological harm, qualifying for the statutory exception.
An honest belief satisfies the subjective element but must also be objectively reasonable under the circumstances to fully justify deadly force. An honest yet unreasonable belief may reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter in jurisdictions recognizing imperfect self-defense.
Supporting sources
Specific and articulable facts indicating that the area harbors an individual posing a danger justify the sweep. The belief must be grounded in observable circumstances rather than speculation alone.
Supporting sources
The belief need only be reasonable under the circumstances even if the perceived danger later proves unfounded. The standard protects actors who respond to facts that would cause a reasonable person to reach the same conclusion.
Supporting sources
…. . . "279. The 'bodily injury' exception could not be invoked by a married woman whose husband, if notified, would, in her reasonable belief, threaten to (a) publicize her intent to have an abortion to family, friends or acquaintances; (b) retaliate against her in future child custody or divorce proceedings; (c) inflict…