TechTakes

I don't think you understand the type of multiple choice questions involved. Here's a real question:

A father lived with his son, who was an alcoholic. When drunk, the son often became violent and physically abused his father. As a result, the father always lived in fear. One night, the father heard his son on the front stoop making loud obscene remarks. The father was certain that his son was drunk and was terrified that he would be physically beaten again. In his fear, he bolted the front door and took out a revolver. When the son discovered that the door was bolted, he kicked it down. As the son burst through the front door, his father shot him four times in the chest, killing him. In fact, the son was not under the influence of alcohol or any drug and did not intend to harm his father.

At trial, the father presented the above facts and asked the judge to instruct the jury on self-defense.

How should the judge instruct the jury with respect to self-defense?

(A) Give the self-defense instruction, because it expresses the defense’s theory of the case.

(B) Give the self-defense instruction, because the evidence is sufficient to raise the defense.

(C) Deny the self-defense instruction, because the father was not in imminent danger from his son.

(D) Deny the self-defense instruction, because the father used excessive force.

Memorizing the book itself doesn't teach how to answer this type of question. It requires actual application of concepts to the new facts being given.