Mont. Code Ann. » TITLE 45. CRIMES · CHAPTER 3. JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE · Part 1. When Force Justified
Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 45-3-115 (2026)

Affirmative Defense

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. MCA Contents
  2. TITLE 45
  3. CHAPTER 3
  4. Part 1
  5. 45-3-115 Affirmative defense

TITLE 45. CRIMES

CHAPTER 3. JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE

Part 1. When Force Justified

Affirmative Defense

45-3-115. Affirmative defense. A defense of justifiable use of force based on the provisions of this part is an affirmative defense.

History: En. 94-3-112 by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, 94-3-112.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: State v. Archambault, 2007 MT 26 (Mont. 2007).
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State v. Archambault, 2007 MT 26 (Mont. 2007). · cites it 6× “A person is justified in the use of force or threat to use force against another when and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself or another against such other's imminent use of unlawful force.”
State v. Courville, 2002 MT 330 (Mont. 2002). · cites it 4× “See § 45-3-115, MCA. Based on this evidence, the jury chose not to believe Courville.”
State v. Polak, 422 P.3d 112 (Mont. 2018). · cites it 3× “Section 45-3-115, MCA ; Erickson , ¶ 25 ; State v.”
State v. Graves, 622 P.2d 203 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 6× “" This Court has been faced with numerous cases challenging self-defense instructions in recent years.”
State v. Daniels, 682 P.2d 173 (Mont. 1984). · cites it 6× “Section 45-3-102, MCA, defines `justifiable use of force' and section 45-3-115, MCA, provides that it is an affirmative defense.”
State v. Daniels, 2011 MT 278 (Mont. 2011). · cites it 3× “Section 45-3-115, MCA, unchanged by HB 228, continues to provide that JUOF is an affirmative defense, which we have defined as “one that admits the doing of the act charged, but seeks to justify, excuse or mitigate it.”
State v. Warnick, 656 P.2d 190 (Mont. 1982). · cites it 9× “In the fourth issue, defendant cites section 45-3-115, MCA, which provides: “Affirmative defense.”
State v. Gonzales, 926 P.2d 705 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 4× “See § 45-3-115, MCA; State v. Grady (1975), 166 Mont.”
State v. Miller, 966 P.2d 721 (Mont. 1998). · cites it 3× “Section 45-3-115, MCA. Although the State retains the burden of proving the underlying offense beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant who raises justifiable use of force as an affirmative defense assumes the “burden of producing sufficient evidence on the issues to raise a…”
State v. Sorenson, 619 P.2d 1185 (Mont. 1980). · cites it 3× “As the Annotator’s Note to section 45-3-115, MCA, provides: “There does not seem to be any federal constitutional problem in establishing a burden greater than a ‘reasonable doubt’ since the U.”
State v. Henson, 2010 MT 136 (Mont. 2010). · cites it 2× “Therefore, Henson suffered no prejudice in this regard from the exclusion of Stratford's testimony.”
State v. King, 2013 MT 139 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 3× “¶26 Section 45-3-115, MCA, further provides that justifiable use of force is an affirmative defense, “which we have defined as ‘one that admits the doing of the act charged, but seeks to justify, excuse or mitigate it.”
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