Practitioners defending assault charges in domestic settings must consider s 244 Criminal Code (WA) as a distinct defence where the complainant was unlawfully present and had committed an offence on the premises — the defence requires evidence (direct or inferential) of two reasonable beliefs (home invader status and necessity of force), after which the prosecution must disprove those beliefs beyond reasonable doubt; failure by a trial court to consider s 244 where the facts are capable of supporting it will constitute a miscarriage of justice.
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