
Like you know how in like every police show ever there’s an episode about a guy they wanna charge with murder but all they have evidence for is manslaughter, but the rookie protagonist is like “nah man I have a feeling” and does some sketchy shit that would get them fired if they’re wrong, but hey they’re right and they book him and it’s a big celebration for the new guy/gal? It’s like that
All I’m saying is that in cases like these it changes the nature of an altercation from a premeditated attack to a reactionary response. It changes how it can be charged, and the jury/judge is responsible for determining if the case meets the criteria. Cases like these can make it much more difficult to prosecute. If done poorly, it could fail completely. See Lindsey halligans fruitless attempts to charge Leticia jones and James comey