Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Self Defense or Assault

The legal system does not look kindly upon people who take the law into their own hands; in fact, the reason we *have* a legal system in the first place is to prevent people from doing such things.

This is especially true where a situation is likely to escalate into violence, and I think we all can agree that disputes between divorcing spouses have a much greater potential for violence than most other types. A spouse who believes he or she is entitled to property the other has taken is supposed to go to court and let the judge decide who keeps it. You had no right to simply take the truck in retaliation for your wife's actions.

What this means is that, legally, you were the aggressor and the man who jumped into the truck (call it a wild guess, but I'll bet he is either your ex's boyfriend or a close relative) with you was trying to stop an illegal action. You had no legal right to use violence against him to further your own goals.

Generally, a claim of self defense will only apply where an innocent person defends himself and not where a wrongdoer resists someone trying to intervene. There is an exception where the intervenor uses a level of force beyond what is reasonable under the circumstances, but I see no reason to believe that happened here.

Although others might see things differently, I disagree with your claim that the other man "brought this upon himself." I might see things differently if I knew more about what happened, but it seems you are the one at fault here. A charge of assault with a deadly weapon seems justified, and you should consider yourself lucky you were not also charged with kidnapping for driving off while he was in the truck.

Now go get yourself a good criminal defense lawyer; you're going to need one. You should also expect to be hit with an application for a restraining order, which will cost a lot to defend and which seems likely to be granted.

And if you and your wife are fighting over the custody of minor children, you have done a great deal of damage to your prospects -- which is probably the way it should be if this is how you handle conflicts in your life.