A person is justified in the use of force or threat to use force against another when and to the extent that the person reasonably believes that the conduct is necessary for self-defense or the defense of another against the other person's imminent use of unlawful force. However, the person is justified in the use of force likely to cause death or serious bodily harm only if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm to the person or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
Mont. Code Ann. § 45-3-102
Use of force in defense of person
Known as the Criminal Code
The act spans §§ 45–45 (382 sections).
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case 204 W. Va. 591 - State v. Cook (1999)
Most recently applied in United States v. Wallen (October 2017)
En. 94-3-102 by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 94-3-102; amd
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Montana Code Annotated (Montana Legislature). Reproduced from public-domain Montana statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.