William A. Hart v. State of Indiana

Statement of the Case

[1] In Indiana, a parent has a privilege to use physical force to discipline a *805 child. The privilege is not absolute, however. In the field of criminal law the privilege may be raised as a defense, as in this case, to a charge of battery. To succeed with the privilege as a defense, the parent must show that the parent reasonably believed that force was necessary to discipline the child and that the force used was reasonable in the circumstances.

[2] The defense of parental privilege is similar to the defense of self defense. To convict, the State must prove either that the…