The castle doctrine is one of the oldest ideas in American self-defense law, and one of the most often confused with stand your ground. Both rules remove a person's duty to retreat before using force. The difference is where they apply, and that difference can decide whether a shooting is treated as self-defense or as a crime.
A home is a castle
The doctrine comes from the common law. According to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, a person in their own home "does not have a duty to retreat prior to using reasonable force," including deadly force when necessary. The institute describes the doctrine as an exception to the general duty to retreat, available only when the rest of a state's self-defense requirements are also met.
States draw the borders differently. The institute notes that North Carolina's version can reach a person's home, workplace and car, while Illinois limits it to the home.
Some states went further in the 1980s. Several passed so-called "Make My Day" laws, which grant immunity from prosecution to people who use deadly force against someone who unlawfully and forcibly enters a residence, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Where stand your ground goes further
Stand your ground takes the same idea out of the house. NCSL describes those laws as letting people "hold their ground" and use deadly force against an imminent threat of death, with no duty to retreat, anywhere they are lawfully present. After the Civil War, courts began extending self-defense rights beyond the home to any place where a person has a "legal right to be."
Today at least 31 states, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands recognize no duty to retreat anywhere a person is lawfully present, either by statute or by court decision. New Jersey and Rhode Island lift the duty to retreat only inside the home, through case law.
That is the practical line. NCSL defines the duty to retreat as a legal requirement to try to withdraw from a threatening situation before using deadly force. In a state that follows the castle doctrine but not stand your ground, that requirement can still apply on a sidewalk or in a parking lot. Inside the home, it falls away.
How Florida writes it
Florida, which expanded its castle doctrine with stand your ground provisions in 2005, shows how these statutes work in practice. Under section 776.013 of the Florida Statutes, a person in a dwelling or residence where they have a right to be has "no duty to retreat" and may use deadly force if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm or a forcible felony.
The statute adds a strong presumption. A person who uses deadly force is presumed to have reasonably feared death or great bodily harm when the other person was unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had entered, a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle, and the defender knew or had reason to believe that was happening. The law defines a dwelling broadly enough to include an attached porch and even a tent.
The presumption has limits. It does not apply when the person entering has a right to be there, such as an owner or tenant, unless a domestic violence injunction or no-contact order is in place. It does not apply when the defender is engaged in criminal activity. It also does not apply when the person entering is a police officer performing official duties who identified themselves, or whom the defender knew or reasonably should have known was an officer.
The civil side
Winning in criminal court does not always end the case. NCSL counts at least 23 states that protect people from civil damages suits when they act in self-defense. In at least six states, including Hawaii, Missouri and New Jersey, a person can still be sued even if they were never charged or convicted.
This story explains how these laws work in general terms. The details depend on each state's statutes and court decisions.
Daniel Rosenberg, Michael Dye and Larry Schweiker traced stand your ground back to the castle doctrine on Episode 70. Read our full breakdown of that conversation in Stand Your Ground, Explained by Three Defense Lawyers.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
