How does the law of defense of others work?

The law of defense of others is correlated to the law of self-defense. (See, e.g., People v. Roe (1922) 189 Cal. 548, 562.) If a defendant shows sufficient evidence as to this defense, the People must prove the absence of this justification beyond a reasonable doubt. (People v. Lee (2005) 131 Cal.App.4th 1413, 1429.) To establish defense of another, three elements are required: (1) the defendant reasonably believed that someone else was in imminent danger of suffering bodily injury;² (2) the defendant reasonably believed that the immediate use of force was necessary to defend against that danger; and

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(3) the defendant used no more force than was reasonably necessary to defend against that danger. (See People v. McKee (1968) 265 Cal.App.2d 53, 61; CALCRIM No. 3470.) The defendant's beliefs are viewed under a reasonable person standard. (People v. Romero (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 846, 853.) " 'The principles of self-defense are founded in the doctrine of necessity. This foundation gives rise to two closely related rules . . . . First, only that force which is necessary to repel an attack may be used in self-defense; force which exceeds the necessity is not justified. [Citation.] Second, deadly force or force likely to cause great bodily injury may be used only to repel an attack which is in itself deadly or likely to cause great bodily injury . . . .' " (People v. Hardin (2000) 85 Cal.App.4th 625, 629-630, italics added.)