In my opinion, the previous bills didn’t go far enough. Note: the term “home” is used because most states only apply their Castle Doctrine to a place of residence however, some states extend the protection to other legally-occupied places such as automobiles and places of business.ĬT has come close a few times to getting Castle Doctrine, but failed. In all cases, the occupant(s) of the home must be there legally, must not be fugitives from the law, must not be using the Castle Doctrine to aid or abet another person in being a fugitive from the law, and must not use deadly force upon an officer of the law or an officer of the peace while they are performing or attempting to perform their legal duties. The occupant(s) of the home may be required to attempt to exit the house or otherwise retreat (this is called the “Duty to retreat” and most self-defense statutes referred to as examples of “Castle Doctrine” expressly state that the homeowner has no such duty) The occupant(s) of the home must not have provoked or instigated an intrusion, or provoked or instigated an intruder to threaten or use deadly force The occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to commit some other felony, such as arson or burglary The occupant(s) of the home must reasonably believe that the intruder intends to inflict serious bodily harm or death upon an occupant of the home the Castle Doctrine does not give the right to attack officers of the law acting in the course of their legal duties The intruder must be acting illegally-e.g. In general, (one) or a variety of conditions must be met before a person can legally use the Castle Doctrine:Īn intruder must be making (or have made) an attempt to unlawfully and/or forcibly enter an occupied residence, business or vehicle. There are some generally accepted conditions in the “wiki”, such as:Įach state differs with respect to the specific instances in which the Castle Doctrine can be invoked, and what degree of retreat or non-deadly resistance (if any) is required before deadly force can be used. In a legal context, therefore, use of deadly force which actually results in death may be defended as justifiable homicide under the Castle Doctrine. It then goes on to give a person the legal right to use deadly force to defend their place, and any other innocent persons legally inside it, from violent attack or an intrusion which may lead to violent attack. First off, what is the “Castle Doctrine”?Ī Castle Doctrine (also known as a Castle Law or a Defense of Habitation Law) is an American legal doctrine that designates one’s place of residence (or, in some states, any place legally occupied, such as one’s car or place of work) as a place in which one enjoys protection from illegal trespassing and violent attack.
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