Is California a Stand Your Ground State?

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A stand your ground law allows anyone who believes their life to be in danger to use lethal force in an act of self-defense, and removes the duty to retreat.

California is not a stand-your-ground state. It is a “castle doctrine” state. 

The castle doctrine allows you to use deadly force if someone forces their way into your home, and, as a result of doing so, creates a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury. In general, any time someone forces their way into your home you are going to be within your rights to assume they mean you harm, and to defend yourself. 

Does that mean you’ll go to jail if you use deadly force in self-defense outside your home?

Not necessarily.

The California Criminal Jury Instructions note that there is no requirement to retreat. These instructions even assert that a defendant has the right, if “reasonably necessary” to pursue an assailant until the danger of death or great bodily injury has passed, even if safety could have been achieved by retreating.

What is “reasonably necessary” is, of course, open to a lot of interpretation. In addition, you’d still have to prove that you were the defender, not the aggressor, and that you did not provoke the attack. 

In addition, the actual law states that a person should only use the amount of force that is reasonably necessary to defend against a danger, whatever it is. The fear must be immediate and present. You also have the right to protect someone else if you had reasonable cause to believe the other person was in imminent danger and that the reasonable use of force was necessary to prevent harm. When defending another, you are still required to uses only the amount of force that it takes to prevent that harm.

A justifiable homicide defense is never a “slam dunk.” It is one defense out of several that we could use in a homicide case. Even if you were defending yourself, you could be arrested and charged with murder. Getting out of jail the very next day because you claimed you acted in self-defense only happens on television. 

The sole exception might be inside your own home, where officers are unlikely to arrest you—but they still have the power to do so if they have doubts about what happened. After all, you do not have the right to invite a friend over, for example, and then shoot them in the back.

See also:

What Happens if You Get into a Bar Fight in LA? 

What to Do If You Get Arrested in Los Angeles, CA? 

How to Exercise Your 5th Amendment Rights After a Los Angeles Arrest 

 

Is California a Stand Your Ground State?

inne-rpage-seperator

A stand your ground law allows anyone who believes their life to be in danger to use lethal force in an act of self-defense, and removes the duty to retreat.

California is not a stand-your-ground state. It is a “castle doctrine” state. 

The castle doctrine allows you to use deadly force if someone forces their way into your home, and, as a result of doing so, creates a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury. In general, any time someone forces their way into your home you are going to be within your rights to assume they mean you harm, and to defend yourself. 

Does that mean you’ll go to jail if you use deadly force in self-defense outside your home?

Not necessarily.

The California Criminal Jury Instructions note that there is no requirement to retreat. These instructions even assert that a defendant has the right, if “reasonably necessary” to pursue an assailant until the danger of death or great bodily injury has passed, even if safety could have been achieved by retreating.

What is “reasonably necessary” is, of course, open to a lot of interpretation. In addition, you’d still have to prove that you were the defender, not the aggressor, and that you did not provoke the attack. 

In addition, the actual law states that a person should only use the amount of force that is reasonably necessary to defend against a danger, whatever it is. The fear must be immediate and present. You also have the right to protect someone else if you had reasonable cause to believe the other person was in imminent danger and that the reasonable use of force was necessary to prevent harm. When defending another, you are still required to uses only the amount of force that it takes to prevent that harm.

A justifiable homicide defense is never a “slam dunk.” It is one defense out of several that we could use in a homicide case. Even if you were defending yourself, you could be arrested and charged with murder. Getting out of jail the very next day because you claimed you acted in self-defense only happens on television. 

The sole exception might be inside your own home, where officers are unlikely to arrest you—but they still have the power to do so if they have doubts about what happened. After all, you do not have the right to invite a friend over, for example, and then shoot them in the back.

See also:

What Happens if You Get into a Bar Fight in LA? 

What to Do If You Get Arrested in Los Angeles, CA? 

How to Exercise Your 5th Amendment Rights After a Los Angeles Arrest 

 

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