Title: The Defense of Necessity in Criminal Law: The Right to Choose the Lesser Evil
Abstract: Criminal defendants who intentionally and knowingly violate a criminal statute may nevertheless claim that they have committed no crime. These defendants make this assertion even though they admit committing the act and possessing the mental element proscribed by the law. For example, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island held that a member of the United States Naval Reserve Force, on duty as a despatch driver, was not amenable to the speed laws of the state while on. his way to deliver a message, at the command of his superior officer, which that officer deemed. urgent.' The decision rested on the principal of public necessity, a principle which the court stated is without application to cases which show a, failure to comply with our laws and ordinances when no military necessity exists. 2 This holding is an example of the application of the defense of The defendant admitted intentionally exceeding the speed limit knowing the act was illegal. But under the pressure of circumstances the act was justified by necessity. The National Commission on Reform of Federal Criminal Laws considered whether or not to