What is the general self-defense instruction given to the jury in a civil case?

This instruction was based on United States v. Feola, 420 U.S. 671, 685, 95 S.Ct. 1255, 1264, 43 L.Ed.2d 541 (1975), which held that specific intent to assault a federal officer is not an element of 18 U.S.C. 111, although "an honest mistake of fact [as to the officer's status] would not be consistent with criminal intent." Id. at 686, 95 S.Ct. at 1264. The trial court preferred this instruction to the two offered by defense counsel because it found defendants' general self-defense instruction too broad and not specifically tailored to an arrest situation, and it found that defendants' mistake of fact instruction was essentially covered by the court's Feola instruction. Defense counsel did not object to the substitution, ⁶ and the Feola instruction was read to the jury.

The third defense theory was that the Spans had the right to resist an unlawful arrest, and the arrest in this case was unlawful because the officers had no probable cause. Defense counsel offered instructions to this effect, allegedly based on United States v. Moore, 483 F.2d 1361, 1364-65 (9th Cir.1973). The offered instructions read: